Complicate You
by Findabhiar Aery
Summary: COMPLETE. Basically, it follows Ginny's 6th year at Hogwarts minus the Golden Trio. DracoBlaiseGinny, graphic sexual content, and some slash, just so you're warned.
1. No Soul to Sell

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Miss. Rowling owns everything to do with Harry Potter and friends. Any recognizable plot elements, characters, names, etc., all belong to her. Anything that does not seem recognizable probably belongs to me.

Also note, halfway through this story, I changed the name and chapter titles, to reflect verses from "Closer" By Nine Inch Nails. Again, I don't own it, and I am making no profits off of this. I simply love this song (please check it out!).

I hate putting disclaimers at the beginning of each chapter, so please assume that this applies to the remainder of this story.

Chapter 1:

Draco Malfoy was bored. And when he was bored, bad things seemed to happen. When he was younger, this would have included the incident where Pansy Parkinson had had half of her head shaved in her sleep. This also would have included a kneazle being set free in Lucius Malfoy's office.

Unfortunately, it also included tricking Blaise Zabini into cursing his mother's house elf to drink half the liquor cabinet, and do a strip tease during the annual Zabini Yule Ball. He shuddered remembering what exactly had happened to that house elf. There were few things that he actually regretted… but that… Well, the thought that he had been only nine years old at the time helped somewhat.

Tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair he was lounging in, he stared out the window at the tranquil gardens located behind Malfoy Manor. The soft blue glimmer of the lake could be found beyond the trees, and the sun glinted in the distance.

_How fucking perfect. Stuck in this bloody place, with only bloody Hogwarts to look forward to_, he thought to himself viciously. Sighing, he tossed back the remainder of the firewhiskey he clutched in one elegant, white hand before throwing the empty glass at the bedroom wall.

Silver hair falling into Draco's eyes, he leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, concentrating on the graceful swirls of detail embedded there.

"You're fucking pathetic Malfoy." A low voice drawled from the doorway, it's owner silently sauntering into the large room.

"Fuck off, Zabini." Draco ignored the other male, instead choosing to lazily flick his wand at the side cabinet, "_Accio firewhiskey_."

Blaise reached out lazily and grabbed the bottle before it reached Draco's hand.

"Fucker." He stood up, stretching his back out, and sighing as he felt his tense muscles pulling under the thin t-shirt he was wearing.

"Lush." Blaise replied, taking a swig from the bottle himself.

"Yeah, right, you're not making that one too easy at the moment." Draco glared at the rapidly emptying bottle in the darker youth's hand.

"Get dressed, we're going to Diagon." Blaise leaned against the wall indolently, watching Draco run a hand through his silvery hair, wincing as his fingers caught in the few tangles that the silky texture would allow.

"I am dressed, you bugger." Draco spat out, pulling his t-shirt down over the top of his worn jeans.

"Oh, well, I meant in something that was not going to give your mother a coronary." Blaise grinned slightly, his red lips gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight, "Something that doesn't scream 'look how Muggle I can be!'"

Draco sneered at his friend, and grabbed a black button down shirt from where a house elf had left it neatly folded on his dresser, "Fuck it, let's go."

Laughing, Blaise bowed slightly at the waist, motioning to the door, as the taller male strode past with a grace that spoke of generations of careful aristocratic breeding. Following Draco, Blaise smirked, _there may be a reason why those Muggle clothes are so popular. Nice ass._

"I heard that." Draco shot over his shoulder with a smirk. Laughing again, Blaise reached forward to sharply pinch the firm flesh he had been admiring as they made their way to the Floo Room.

Shaking his head over his friend's liberties, Draco ignored the loud mutterings from the portraits of his ancestors that lined the darkened hallway. That was his usual defense against them, as they rarely approved of his actions.

Blaise, however, thought them entertaining, and had more than once been caught calmly informing Marcus Malfoy from the 17th century just how much he admired Muggles, and how he thought it was absolutely wonderful that the Malfoys now willingly associated with Mudbloods. Draco knew it was not possible for the figures in the paintings to hurt the living, but at that moment, he had begun to fear for Blaise's safety.

Sure enough, Blaise started in on Hildegarde Malfoy with his charm, calmly stating that any time she wanted a romp, he would be "up her knickers without a second thought, and would ruin her for any other 2-dimensional fuckers."

Draco winced, and reached back to grab Blaise's arm as the portraits began really yelling.

"Why Draco, so forceful, you know that turns me on…" Blaise smirked as he was pulled into the small room with fireplaces along each wall.

"Good lord, what doesn't turn you on?" Draco rolled his eyes, and grabbed the shorter boy in for a quick, but passionate kiss, running his tongue along Blaise's full lower lip.

Moaning, Blaise pushed himself close against Draco's lean body, his fingers holding his hips with a bruising tightness.

Draco pulled away reluctantly after a few moments, his tongue sliding over his lips, tasting the last bit of pure Blaise that lingered there. He grinned at his disappointed friend, and stepped over the fireplace grate, grabbing some of the Floo powder on his way.

"Diagon Alley."

--

Ginny Weasely was bored. And when she was bored, bad things seemed to happen. For example, cursing Ron Weasely's hair a couple of months before to turn purple just in time for his big date with Hermione Granger, and then casting the blame on their older twin brothers. Actually, that still amused her, as she smiled innocently, remembering Ron's surprisingly girlish shrieks.

Flopping onto her back in the tall grass, Ginny studied the movements of the clouds, willing herself to stay awake. The sun warmed her pale skin in a lovely way, making her feel incredibly relaxed, and content. Her summer had been… interesting to say the least.

Leaving Hogwarts at the end of her 5th year a few months beforehand, she had not been looking forward to a summer away from the place that she really thought of as her home, but she had been pleasantly surprised.

First, her brother Bill, and his wife, Fleur, had been expecting their first child, and Ginny's parents had decided to join them in France for the summer to help with its impending arrival.

Then, her twin brothers Fred and George had decided that they needed extra help at their joke shop, and had hired her on, ensuring that she had plenty of pocket money.

Ginny's grin turned bittersweet as she remembered the only thing about her summer that had already soured. Harry Potter, her brother Ron's best friend, had finally asked her out, and they had spent the month of July together before he had left suddenly with Ron and Hermione on some sort of 'mission'. It was now the end of August, and she had still not heard from him.

Feeling slightly bad, Ginny admitted to herself that she had not fully missed her 'ex-boyfriend'. Spending that much time in Fred and George's shop had meant there was plenty of teenage male admirers around, and they had all noticed how she was definitely not a child. Her grin spread into a smirk as she thought back on the previous night's fun with Seamus Finnegan, who had been incredibly… fun.

Stretching her arms over her head so that her small t-shirt rode up slightly, Ginny absent-mindedly played with the small silver ring that now adorned her bellybutton. It was a souvenir from a day in Muggle London with Lavender and Parvati a couple of weeks before.

The three girls had bonded over a shared love of clothing and boys, and had spent the day seeing as much of London as possible before going to a Muggle club and getting Ginny completely smashed for the first time ever, before all traipsing back to the Burrow at the break of dawn giggling like hyenas. Living on her own for the first time was definitely to Ginny's liking.

The only brothers that were around were the twins, who were enjoying her adventures almost as much as herself, and they had breakfast each weekend to go over the previous week's exploits. It was definitely preferable to Ron's overbearing nature, and Percy's pompous airs.

"Gin!" A voice called from the house, "Gin! Get your lardy arse over here!" Ginny grinned as she recognized Fred, and stood up to walk to the back door.

"Hey love, bit of a favour, George needs to go check out new… suppliers," Fred said shiftily, grinning at the roll of Ginny's eyes, "Can you come help me with the shop?"

"Sure." Ginny paused for a moment, a mocking introspective look on her face, "Shall I be paid time and a half for being there on my day off?"

Fred looked irritated for a moment, before smirking at her, "Why not? Come on, I left that new assistant by herself, and she is just way too tasty to be all alone."

Ginny grinned at his antics, and followed him to the fireplace, "Diagon Alley."

A/N: Ok, so I'm giving Ginny a backbone... kinda sick of stories portraying her either as evil, or the virginal goody goody... lol... and yes, there is some slash, Blaise and Draco ENJOY each other. This is a prologue, thus why it's so short. Stay with me, it will all come together, I promise.


	2. Violate You

Chapter 2:

Scowling, Draco leaned against the doorframe of Madame Malkin's, and glared as Blaise rifled through the selection of dress robes. Honestly, he was worse than a girl sometimes.

"Blaise, any day now." He drawled, twirling his wand idly.

Blaise picked up some navy blue robes that he felt matched his eyes, "Shut up Draco."

"How could you possibly need new clothing?"

"Draco, the way I keep up my extraordinary sexiness is through self-grooming, and lovely clothing that make girls, and boys, itch to take off. You might want to think about this, as the denim is not the best look." Blaise drawled, running his fingers over the silky fabric.

"You know that you are gayer than gay sometimes, right?"

"Wow, fancy that."

"Blaise! Come on! I'm half-pissed, and I want to be full-pissed. You took away my drink, and then you dragged me to Diagon Alley. And, we've been in this bloody shop for over an hour!"

"Suck it up, you girl."

"I want my booze!"

"Wah wah."

"Fuck this!" Draco pulled his jeans up over his hips where they had fallen slightly before turning around and leaving. The only action his traitorous friend took was to yell, "Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron in an hour! And watch your bloody language, you goddamned sailor!"

Muttering to himself about effeminate males who had nothing better to do except clothes shop for his entire life, he stalked into the street to do some window shopping.

Blaise and he had been friends since they were five years old, and had been forced into dancing classes together. Draco smirked, remembering how Blaise had pulled Pansy's dress over her head, and pushed her into the punch bowl during their attempt to waltz.

It was actually mildly surprising that Pansy was not more messed up considering how they had harassed her in their earlier years.

He paused in front of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, watching the various charms light up the left windows. Pausing briefly, he spotted Skiving Snackboxes. With a smirk, he entered the shop.

There was rows upon rows of every kind of charm, jokes, even food that a trickster could want. He wracked his brains where he'd seen this stuff before, as Zonko's didn't even come close. This must be the twin Weasley's shop. He had never had problems with them, just with Ron… and Potter.

Making his way carefully down the first row, he flinched slightly to avoid the various explosions that came his way from the various boxes.

Suddenly, he stopped in the middle of the aisle as a group of pre-teen girls moved aside, and simply stared at the sight in front of him. My gods, that is a lovely arse, he thought, his mouth watering slightly. Shaking his head, he stared as the girl in front of him rummaged through a box, her small but shapely behind lovingly covered in worn denim.

Ginny grunted as she pulled apart the various charms that were in the box. The twin's methods of organization was well… nothing. They had no method, and simply pushed as much as they could into a box before attempting to close it.

Sighing, she put her hands on her knees, and glared at the box before stiffening. She had that prickly feeling on the back of her neck.

Standing upright, she whirled around, almost colliding with a large male body. Reaching out to balance herself, she grabbed a handful of soft fabric, and stared into stormy silver eyes which were fringed with heavy black lashes.

Ginny gasped, and quickly stepped back, recognizing Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy who was currently staring at her with an intensity that was mildly overwhelming.

Draco took in the petite female in front of him. Her head barely came up to his shoulders, but she held herself like a queen. He sucked in a quick breath.

Her eyes were the brightest blue, and they were contrasted by the ivory of her skin, marred only by a few freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her small nose. Her mouth was pouty and pink, and his groin tightened at the thought of what it was capable of. A delicately curved jaw gave way to a slender graceful neck, which he could imagine running his lips down.

His eyes traced their way from the scarlet curls that fell over her shoulders in wild disarray down her back, to her full breasts that strained against the worn fabric of what looked like a child's t-shirt with 'Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes' printed across the front.

Her waist looked tiny, creating curves that he itched to feel, and as she breathed, he caught sight of a flash of silver in the middle of her taut stomach. Her jeans rode low and tight on her hips showing off long slender but shapely legs ending in small feet encased in flip-flops that showed a sparkle of red nail polish.

Slowly raising his eyes back to her face, Draco tried to think of where he had seen her before. It seemed inconceivable that he would have forgotten her, but alas….

"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He shot her a smirk, and held his pale hand out to her.

"For Merlin's sake Malfoy, I know who you are." Her eyes held just the slightest amount of teasing, and a little bit of disdain that threw him slightly. His eyes narrowed at her, and he lowered his hand slowly, taking in her expression, "How do you know me?"

Ginny laughed inwardly, the smug bastard obviously didn't recognize her, and she was getting under his ego by not instantly falling at his feet. Of course she knew Draco Malfoy. She had hexed him for Gods' sakes, and she smirked slightly remembering the bat-bogey hex.

Still… she couldn't help but notice how… nice he was looking. She pointed her wand at the box and with a "_windgardium leviosa_" brought the box to eye level and walked away, shooting a look over her shoulder to see the predatory look on Draco's face.

Making sure to sway her hips a little more than necessary, she swept the curtain aside that hid the cluttered staff area of the shop from the store.

Those silver eyes had always made her pause… the boy was just too gorgeous for his own damn good. She set the heavy box down slowly, and turned to see if there was maybe another box that Fred had meant when he asked her to inventory 'that box in the back'.

"Fuckin' Fred… Just had to take Mara out to get lunch." Ginny kicked the box in frustration, "Stupid boxes."

"Now now, what did the poor little box ever do to you?" A silk-smooth low voice drawled from behind her.

Ginny whirled around, a smirk firmly in place, as Draco stepped into the small room with her. "Are you stalking me?"

"Would you like me to?" He sauntered to her, and stared down at her intensely, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Ginny found herself staring at the leather braid that hugged his neck.

There was something definitely off about Malfoy being in her domain, in her brothers' store. She tilted her head back to stare into his eyes, and sighed at his thick eyelashes jealously. Why was it that boys always had that and didn't care? It was so unfair.

"I don't know about that, Malfoy." She grinned, "Do you bite?"

"Only if you want me to." His eyes flashed, and he leaned into her slightly, "And call me Draco."

"Oh, I don't know, Malfoy, maybe I like spanking better?" Teasing him, she twirled a piece of hair around her finger coquettishly. Boys were so easy.

Draco's breath hitched in his throat as he took in the little flame-coloured temptress. Her eyes glinted with amusement, and he realized that she fully knew what she was doing.

Smirking down at her, he slowly placed his hands on her hips, thumbs rubbing against the bare skin over the low waist of her jeans, "I can do that too."

"Hmm." Ginny murmured, and placed a hand on his chest, feeling solid muscles clench. She could smell a faint hint of alcohol clinging to him, and wondered if this was maybe why he had not yet clued into who she was. Whatever the reason, this was just way too fun. Quickly, she leaned up to whisper into his ear, "I don't care."

Grinning at him, she turned to walk back into the store, "And get out of here, this is a staff-only area."

Draco stood there stock still for a long moment, fully comprehending that she had won. With a growl, he quickly re-adjusted the front of his pants, wincing as his hard cock rubbed against the rough fabric, and stalked back into the store after the female who had done this to him.

He came back into the store to see her laughing with her head back at a group of what looked to be thirteen year old boys, who were blatantly staring at her chest as she explained one of the charms to them. His groin tightened further as he realized that he was acting the same way.

Watching her with predatory stillness, he contemplated just how much he wanted this girl. Hearing her husky laughter again, he watched her shake her head at the antics of her customers. He smirked, realizing that it was just a matter of time before she would be under him… all of that ivory skin on display just for him.

Checking the time piece on the wall, he cursed under his breath as he realized he was almost fifteen minutes late to meet Blaise. Blaise, who was known to throw hissy fits over lateness. Public, hissy fits.

He cast the girl one last glance, again wondering where he knew her from, before turning to leave. She would just have to wait until he had more time.

Ginny watched Draco leave, well, watched his fine bum leave. Denim did wondrous things for that man's firm buttocks. She sighed, and turned back to a little girl who was looking at the Pygmy Puffs with a longing look in her eyes. "Would you like to hold one?"

--

Luckily for Draco, Blaise was chatting up a beautiful witch at the Leaky Cauldron when he got there, and barely noticed his friend's tardiness.

Taking a sip of his Butterbeer, he moodily looked around the bar which was full to bursting at this time of day. Blaise had somehow managed to grab the last free table, and now he was almost looking up the tiny skirt of the witch that his friend was talking to. And instead of trying to figure out what colour her knickers where, he was thinking about the redhead.

He took another swig from his beer, and scowled at the witch looking at him from a few chairs over until she looked away. Sighing, he decided he'd had enough.

"Hey Blaise," Draco leaned around the female who was almost on top of the black-haired wizard, and snapped his fingers impatiently in his face.

Blaise blinked, and looked at him with a look of cool amusement across his face, "May I help you?"

"I'm going to get out of here. I have some… shopping to do." Draco looked away as Blaise arched an eyebrow at him inquisitively.

"Suit yourself." Draco almost sagged in relief as uncharacteristically, Blaise did not question him. Chugging the remainder of the drink, he stood to leave, and caught a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye. She was here…

Ginny walked into the bar, a long day at the twins' shop making her feel weary and giving her the beginnings of a headache.

Asking Tom for a beer and sandwich, she looked around for a place to sit, and sighed when she realized just how busy it was. Wrong time of day to be looking for her own seat.

"Why, it's you again, Red." She tensed slightly as she recognized the silky voice from behind her, before turning to grin at Malfoy in amusement.

"Malfoy. Are you still stalking me?" His patented evil smirk slid into place as he placed his hands on the bar that she was leaning against, effectively caging her into his larger body.

"Hey, you followed me." He leaned in close. Ginny smirked back up at him, inwardly cursing the fact that he either didn't know the concept of personal space, or didn't care. He made her slightly nervous, which was a little bit odd for her.

"So I did. Do you want me to bite?"

Draco's eyes darkened to a stormy grey, and he leaned in further so that their lips were a breath apart, "Where?"

Ginny stared at him for a moment, feeling desire pooling in her stomach, before shaking it off. This was ferrety-Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! She smirked at him again, and turned around to pick up her beer and food.

Draco backed off, and then beckoned for her to follow him as he walked off. Cursing her curious nature, she followed him, until he stopped beside a table that was currently inhabited by Zabini and some witch who looked to be a prostitute.

Pushing a chair at Ginny, Draco sat down and poked Blaise in the shoulder with a nod in her direction. Scowling at the blond, he looked around the witch who was faithfully telling him about what exactly she shaved, and stared in bewilderment.

Draco smirked as he caught the look on Blaise's face, smug in the knowledge that he was not the only affected by this girl. She looked between them quickly, and raised an eyebrow at Draco.

"Blaise Zabini, this is…" Draco motioned for her to give Blaise her name.

"Oh, how shifty of you. If you can't remember, I'm not going to tell." She quickly quipped at him.

"You got me Red." Blaise watched the interplay with interest, before focusing on the little female that Draco had brought over. She was… perfect. There was no other way to describe her. He had only seen her for a moment, and yet he already wanted into her pants.

Draco looked at him, and navy met silver eyes as they quickly came to an understanding. There weren't too many girls that appealed to both of them, but in this case… well.

Ginny reached a slender arm around the prostitute to shake Blaise outstretched hand, "Pleasure."

"So, you're refusing to tell Draco your name, huh?" He grinned at her slightly, "Are you going to tell me?"

"Nope. You should also know." Ginny sat back and took a swig of her beer, pushing her red curls off her forehead in the process, "You two are both gits."

Draco chuckled lightly under his breath at the look on Blaise's face. Oh, he was interested all right.

It was a wonder that the other witch was still sitting there by the way he was staring at Ginny. Draco wondered idly if Ginny even realized, as Blaise was very hard to read despite his deceptively open demeanor.

A/N: Yes, I know... No real raunchiness yet. It will come, I promise!

And thank you to... AirmidM (who writes AMAZING B/G/D stories, and is an inspiration, trust me), toxicvampire01 (Who made me laugh heartily), frozenclover (who understood my oh-so-subtle nuances), Misery DeSoul (I tried to update fast!), whyevenbother (thank you, and yeah, Ginny's in 6th, the other two in 7th), mell8 (I love compliments! thank you), Momentyne (exactly! Ginny is kickass!), and all else who reviewed. I was actually a little amazed at the amount of reviews I got in one day, the HP community is alive and strong. Thank you very much! 


	3. Have My Isolation

Warning: SLASH AHEAD.

Chapter 3:

Ginny stood up briefly to cross her legs under herself before facing Blaise again.

"So… You're still not gonna tell us, huh." He asked with a smirk, loving how much this was driving Draco 'oh look at me, sex god' Malfoy.

"Nope." She took a bite of her sandwich, "But I really do think you're both gits. Mildly stupid gits at that." Smiling to soften the blow, she turned to look at Draco.

"Enough of this." He ran a hand through his silvery hair, pushing it out of his mercurial eyes. Ginny's eyes traced the movements of his hand, and idly imagined what exactly those hands were capable of. She shifted slightly in her seat, feeling an uncomfortable wetness.

They had been sitting in the bar for most of Ginny's lunch break, and to her surprise, she had been enjoying herself. Blaise was witty, charming, and incredibly easy to talk to, while still being one of the biggest flirts she had ever met. Draco was intense, moody, sarcastic, gorgeous, and the archetypal bad boy. It was like the best of both worlds!

Blaise crossed his legs at the ankles, and lounged in the hard wood chair. He smirked at the saucy redhead, "Well, if that's how you feel girly… I'm actually relatively ok with it. I have definitely been called worse."

Ginny grinned at him, and took a sip of her drink, "Hey, whatever you need to sleep at night."

Draco's eyes darkened, and he smirked at her slowly, "Would you like to know what I need to sleep at night?"

"Well, actually, Malfoy, I believe I said that to Zabini, so no." Ginny smirked back at him as Blaise let out a choked laugh, which quickly turned into a cough when he noticed the look Draco shot him.

"Does this mean that you've been thinking about me in bed then, kitten?" Blaise asked quickly, winking at her with a leer.

"Oh of course, Zabini." Ginny arched her head back, and moaned softly, "Oh Zabini, take me away!" She ran her hands up her chest in a seductive move, before winking at Blaise.

Blaise cracked up, despite the fact that his cock hardened at the sight of her. By the looks of Draco, he was feeling the same pull to this girl.

"So, Red, do you go to Hogwarts?" Draco asked, his mouth dry at the thought of her beneath him making those noises.

"Sure do."

Blaise blinked, "What house?"

"That would be way too much of a giveaway." Ginny looked back and forth between them, "I can't believe you still don't know who I am!"

"Ok… what year?" Draco went through the girls he knew quickly, still feeling that she was very familiar, just not being able to place her.

Ginny looked at them appraisingly, "6th."

"Ooh, a younger woman." Blaise looked at Draco, and licked his full red lips, "I like that."

Laughing at this exchange, Ginny grinned at him, "Why? So you can corrupt me?" She batted her lashes at him lasciviously, "Oh please oh please!"

Draco leaned into her, "You want to say that again, love, because I can more than accommodate you."

Unbidden, Ginny's eyes shot to his crotch quickly, before her eyes met his again, "You sure about that?"

He shifted in his chair, and shot Blaise a look. Blaise chuckled lightly, "I love a saucy redhead."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Zabini." She leaned over to him, running a finger over his jaw, and down his neck to where his black shirt was unbuttoned at his adam's apple, smiling as she felt him swallow convulsively.

Ginny leaned back and winked at him, her bright blue eyes shining with amusement. He stared at her for a moment longer, seeing a hint of lust there too. Eyes hooded, he looked over at Draco.

"You know our names are Draco and Blaise, right?" Draco drawled, leaning back in his chair, and taking a sip of the firewhiskey that Tom had provided just after the witch Blaise had been chatting up had chosen to leave through being ignored for a full ten minutes.

"Yeah, but it's just more amusing this way." Ginny checked her watch quickly, "Ok, well, this has been lovely, but I really must dash."

Years of etiquette classes ingrained in both of their minds, Draco and Blaise both stood up as she did. Ginny grinned at them, leaning over to Blaise with a hand supporting herself on his shoulder, kissed him gently on the cheek, before doing the same to Draco.

"Will we see you on the train?" Draco asked quietly.

"You might."

They both blinked in bewilderment as they watched her leave. She allowed one last smile to herself as she turned away, boys really were easy. Though, she had had a thought that if she had stayed longer, something more might have happened. Those two were just too damn… everything for their own good.

"Did that minx just…" Blaise asked quietly.

"Yes. Yes she did." Draco shot Blaise a dark look, and again, rearranged the front of his jeans which had been a byproduct of Red's closeness. Blaise looked down at Draco's not-so-subtle movement, arched an eyebrow.

"Let's get out of here." Blaise grinned and dragged Draco to the Floo fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron.

Stumbling out of the fireplace at Malfoy Manor, Draco grabbed Blaise to him, and quickly pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

Blaise gasped, his mouth opening which Draco took full advantage of, exploring the familiar mouth with passion. Nimble fingers shaking, Blaise wrenched open Draco's jeans, and quickly slid a hand in to find him.

Groaning with need, Draco angled his mouth, pushing the kiss deeper, feeling Blaise's fingers wrap around him, tracing the veins in his hard cock. He shuddered at his lover's skillful touch, and arched his head back, breaking the kiss as his thumb rubbed over the tip.

"Oh gods…"

Blaise shivered as he heard the need in Draco's voice, and gracefully fell to his knees, pulling the denim down as he went. Draco's darkened eyes watched him, and he hissed in a breath as Blaise's warm mouth enveloped him.

Putting a hand into his silky black hair, Draco braced his other hand against the nearest fireplace mantle, "Yes…"

Reaching up to softly rub Draco's balls through the light blond fuzz there, Blaise ran his tongue over the head, before slowly sucking down the length. He opened his mind to hear Draco's approaching climax.

Draco panted, feeling the perspiration on his forehead as he looked down at the top of Blaise's inky head, and felt him open his mind. That caused another moan, as he knew how turned on Blaise was.

He sent an image of a fiery redhead spread out on his bed, back arched, pink nipples pointed, shuddering with release to Blaise just before he came hard. Blaise moaned as this set him off.

Blaise leaned his head against Draco's bare thigh, panting for breath after his own release. It always set either of them off if they opened their minds during this… And that image of Red he had sent…

Draco hugged Blaise's head to him tightly as he tried to regain his balance, struggling to find his breath. For some reason, Hogwarts was looking even better now.

"Love you Blaise." He stroked his lover's hair, smiling down at him. Blaise smiled back blearily, "Love you too."

Blaise stood up, feeling mildly uncomfortable in his cum stained boxers. "Come on, I need to shower."

Draco's eyes darkened again, "Sounds like a plan."

--

Ginny rolled her eyes as Molly Weasley came barreling into the kitchen, followed by Arthur Weasley. "And they're home!" She muttered darkly to herself.

"Ginny! We're home!" Molly's smile spread across her face as she came to give Ginny a big hug. Ginny smiled genuinely. However much her mom might irritate and baby her, there was still something about being hugged by her mommy which made everything in the world alright.

Molly leaned back to look her only daughter in the eye. There was something different about her Ginny, and she wasn't exactly sure what it was. It worried her slightly, before she smiled brightly at Ginny.

Arthur came over to hug Ginny as well, feeling pure happiness just to be home, and seeing his daughter again. His eyes met Molly's over Ginny's shoulder, raising his eyebrows at what he saw there. Molly was worried. She quickly shook her head at his inquisitive look.

Ginny pulled back in time to see the exchange, "What? What are you two up to?"

"Nothing, Ginny. We're just happy to see you." Molly smiled tenderly, and cupped Ginny's cheeks in her hands, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "We missed you. You really should have come with us. Lila is already so big! You should have seen the look on Bill's face when she was born."

Grinning at the thought of her first niece, Ginny grabbed the wizarding photos out of her mom's purse, and rifled through them.

"Hey you! No going through the purse!" Molly laughed and made a motion to grab back the pictures, Ginny running to the other side of the kitchen with a shriek. "I'll give them back! I promise!"

She grinned, and looked at Lila Molly Weasley, her oldest brother's new pride and joy. How was it that Fleur looked perfect after having a baby? Life was not fair sometimes… She flipped through them, catching glances of a lovely ocean-front cottage on the Atlantic, Fleur and Bill smiling and waving from the front door with a small pink bundle… Lila blinking sleepily… Lila screaming… Fleur feeding- oh gods, something Ginny didn't need to see.

They looked so happy…

"Do you think I might be able to go see them during a break this year?" Ginny looked up to grin at her parents.

"You have to talk to them, dear." Molly's face darkened, "They said they're not coming back to Britain anytime soon. I'm a little disappointed about that… I thought for sure they would move back here."

Arthur reached over to hug his wife's shoulders comfortingly, "Molly, they have a wonderful life there. They have a house, friends, Fleur's family."

Molly smiled slightly. Ginny leaned over to kiss her mom's cheek, and then looked back to the pictures, "Is this Gabrielle?" She asked, pointing to a blonde girl hugging Fleur, and holding Lila.

"Yes dear."

"She's very pretty." Ginny hadn't seen her sister-in-law in a couple of years since Fleur and Bill got married, "How old is she now?"

"I believe she is eleven. She was just receiving letters from wizarding schools when we left."

Ginny looked up, "Is she going to come to Hogwarts?"

"I know she got a letter… But I think Fleur wanted her to go to her Beauxbaxton." Arthur replied with a grin. Ginny laughed at that, knowing how Fleur felt about Hogwarts.

"Speaking of school, Ginny dear did you buy everything you need? I feel so bad that this is the first time I haven't been with you for this!" Molly wrung her hands agitatedly. It had been hard to leave Ginny for the length of time that she had, but Arthur had been right, Ginny was a woman, not a little girl.

"Yeah, even got some new robes and such with the money I made."

"The twins didn't work you too hard, right?" Arthur asked with a smile.

Ginny laughed, "No. I actually had to make them work half the time. The shop's doing really well though."

Molly shook her head at the thought of the joke shop she had been so against, and felt a swell of pride. Bill was a husband and father, and loved his job at the Paris' branch of Gringotts, Charlie was in Romania and had a new girlfriend that Molly had high hopes for. They were slowly getting back in touch with Percy, and that made her happy beyond belief. The twins were happy and successful, and Ron… Well…

"Ginny, have you heard from Ron since they left?" Molly shot Ginny a look, trying to hide her concern over her youngest boy.

Frowning slightly at the reminder, Ginny shook her head in the negative, "They just left at the end of July. I haven't heard from the other two either."

"Not even Harry?" Molly blinked in surprise. This was certainly different from the end of June when they had left for France. Ginny and Harry had been all over each other to the point of a rather embarrassing sex talk with a madly blushing Ginny.

"No." Ginny replied shortly. She frowned remembering how Harry had just left… "Anyway, I'm a little tired, and tomorrow I'm leaving for school, so I think I'm going to head to bed."

"What time would you like to leave tomorrow, dear?"

Ginny looked at her fingernails with intense concentration, "Lavender was actually going to pick me up tomorrow, and we're going together with the Patils. If that's all right?"

Arthur and Molly exchanged looks, Molly looking about to argue with her daughter, Arthur willing her to let Ginny do what she wanted. Molly sighed, "If that's what you want Ginny. I'll miss waving you off though."

Ginny smiled at her dad with relief, "Thanks mom. I thought we could have a nice breakfast tomorrow morning though."

Finally, Ginny was able to make her way to her bedroom, flopping back on the small bed, still covered by the frilly pink and white comforter her mom had made when she was ten year old. She cast her eyes around, taking in the various stuffed animals, and mementos from her childhood.

Smiling at her thoughts, Ginny thought about her day. About Draco and Blaise… Smirking lightly, she quickly changed into track pants, and a t-shirt, before going to wash her face, and go through her evening routine.

Settling into her bed, she again thought of the two Slytherins. She was so incredibly attracted to both of them… which was somewhat odd, as they were almost polar opposites.

Draco Malfoy… the boy who had tormented her older brother for years, and was generally known as a conceited, pompous prat. It was hard to think about that when his slightly long silvery hair was falling into his pale eyes, which had such incredible intensity. He made her nervous, like he could see everything she was thinking.

Her grin widened as she remembered his long lithe body, which was stereotypically a Seeker's body with light muscles and definition.

Blaise Zabini, who she actually didn't really know that much about except that he had apparently slept with half of Hogwarts… male and female. He had the same pale white skin as Draco, but that was where the similarities ended. Red, pouty lips were generally curved in a knowing smile, topped with silky black hair that begged for her fingers. Dark blue eyes stared at her, but with humour.

He was also slightly shorter than Draco, and stockier. To Ginny's knowledge, he didn't play Quidditch, but he had a heavy muscular physique.

Pulling her long braid over her shoulder, Ginny stretched out, her arms above her head, as she was lost in thought about the two. She had heard how close they were, there were several rumours around Hogwarts in her fifth year about the two of them… From what she'd seen at lunch, they were almost eerily in tune with each other, and that made her wonder if they practiced legilimency.

Closing her bright eyes, she fantasized about them… About pale skin gliding… hands stroking… black and silver hair falling together. Her breath hitched over the images, her panties becoming uncomfortably wet.

Pulling up her shirt impatiently, her fingers immediately found her nipples already hard, and anticipating her touch. Rolling them between her thumbs and forefingers, she threw her head back, imagining that this was a pair of elegant large pale hands that were touching her.

Biting her lip, she reached one hand down her pants to find her clit amid the closely cropped fiery curls there. Circling it gently, she imagined looking down to see a face framed by silky black hair licking his lips before burying his face where she needed most.

Thrusting one slender finger in, Ginny gasped, looking up hoping to see an aristocratic blond leaning over her, her nipple grasped between his strong teeth, urging her to a climax.

Ginny's back arched as she tweaked her clit hard, and came down off her high shuddering violently.

"Wow…" It was enough to make her wonder what the real thing would be like… Having both of them… She bit her lip, wondering if there was even a remote possibility of that happening. That was the last thought she had, before falling into a restless sleep with two boys haunting her dreams, and awakening to bring herself off at least twice more before morning.

--

Draco lounged in an empty compartment onboard the Hogwart's Express, waiting idly to see if Blaise would actually be on time this year. He had only managed to make it onto the train maybe twice in the previous six years. Draco smirked, remembering last year's debacle, which had nearly gotten him expelled from the school.

Leaning his head back on the wall, he glared at a couple of first years who dared to pop their heads, trying to see if the compartment was free. He smirked as they left with a yelp.

"Can we sit here?" Lavender Brown popped her head in, with a smile for Draco. He closed his eyes, and waved her off, not wanting to be bothered by her crap today.

Tensing as he felt someone sitting down across from him, he opened his eyes to yell at the person, only to stop with his mouth open, and stare.

"Hey Malfoy." Ginny grinned at the look of shock on his face. She had obviously startled him somewhat. She tugged her light jacket off, and put her rucksack on the seat beside her, before drawing her legs up.

Draco watched her make herself comfortable, and tried again to guess just who the hell this girl was. His hands fairly itched to touch her, but he kept them resolutely on his knees.

"Red." He nodded stiffly. She looked up to shoot him a quick grin, and he stared at her expressionlessly. Not knowing what he was thinking irritated her, and she narrowed her bright eyes at him.

Smirking as if he knew, he leaned his head back again, wondering idly what the feisty little redhead would do at the obvious dismissal.

"Malfoy?"

"Hmm?" He worked hard to hide the grin that was threatening to give him away, and then sucked in his breath when he felt her hands on his thighs. Refusing to let her win, he quickly started thinking about the Quidditch statistics of the Chudley Canons for the last ten years.

Ginny bit her lip in irritation… She was not used to males not paying her attention. And she really wanted Draco's attention, which was frustrating. Slowly, she slid her hands up his thighs, and frowned when it appeared he was falling asleep.

Pulling her hands back, she stood, and quickly, before her courage could desert her, she quickly straddled his lap, pushing her pelvis right into him. She smirked when his head snapped up, showing her dark eyes, staring at her with lust.

Smiling down into his surprised face, she brought her lips slowly to his, brushing an innocent kiss across them. Draco growled under his breath at her teasing, and grabbed her hips tightly, pulling her tighter into him, and taking possession of her lips.

Ginny moaned, and wrapped her arms around Draco's shoulders, squirming her crotch around on him feeling his hardness between her legs. Draco groaned into her mouth, before stroking her tongue slowly.

Feeling almost too hot, Ginny started pulling at his shirt, trying to pull it up without letting go of his lips. Draco chuckled into her mouth, feeling what she was trying to do, and pulled back slightly to smirk at her.

Ginny's blue eyes were hazed with lust, and he watched as her tongue snaked out to lick her swollen lips as she stared at him. Hardening further, Draco reached up to cup her breasts gently, watching as she arched her head back with unmistakable pleasure.

Looking up to see Blaise quietly slipping through the door, Draco smirked, manipulating the redhead's nipples as she moaned. Blaise's mouth went dry at the image, and he quickly turned around to lock the door, and pull down the linen blind over the window, before walking to the couple.

Sighing, Ginny slowly moved her hips over Draco, trying to feel more of him through two layers of pants. She smiled slightly at his groan, and did that again, before gasping with surprise as a cool mouth suddenly found the side of her neck.

Whipping her head around, her eyes collided with Blaise, and he stopped to give her a slow kiss, his tongue snaking across her lower lip to gain entrance. Ginny moaned at the feelings running through her.

A/N: I know… evil place to stop… but it felt appropriate. I have been procrastinating like no one's business, as all of my uni stuff is now due, and I would rather right fanfictions. And the reviews help… Thank you to everyone… I am LOVING the funny comments (yeah, I know the butts came up at least 3 times, which says something about me, huh, but come on! What are jeans the best at doing? Trust me, check out the next hot man or woman you see wearing jeans, and it is so obvious!), and helpful hints. And yes, I will go into how Blaise and Draco got to be so… close. I promise…. 


	4. Absence of Faith

Chapter 4:

Draco watched with a slight smirk on his face as Blaise and Ginny kissed passionately. He continued manipulating her firm breasts, seeing the nipples harden even further through her shirt. As she moaned, he tweaked them even more tightly to the point of pain, and she pulled back from Blaise with a gasp to glare at his smirking face.

Leaning down, Blaise ran his lips along the side of her neck, running a hand down between her breasts, feeling her heart beat racing frantically, before pulling away and sprawling on the opposite seat with a smirk.

Ginny whipped around to see what he was doing, and her bright eyes widened slightly. Fighting back a chuckle, Draco leaned back, and put his arms behind his head, watching to see what she would do next. He wasn't disappointed.

Shoving both hands against Draco's chest hard, Ginny got up and threw herself next to Blaise with a pout. That was it, she hated them both. And her nipples were so hard that any movement was rubbing them, and driving her nuts. And it was all their fault! Grimacing slightly, she crossed her arms over the evidence, and stared at the ceiling.

Blaise watched her out of the corner of his eyes, and it almost killed him not to touch her. But he knew what Draco was up to, which he fully endorsed. This little girl had had enough control over both of them, it was really time to do something about that. Although, his resolve wavered when he saw her small pink tongue snake out to lick her swollen bottom lip.

Exchanging glances with Draco, Blaise stretched his legs out to rest beside his lap. "So, Draco, how're things?"

Draco grinned widely, not feeling this amused, or turned on, in a very long time, "Not much. I'm actually mildly amazed that you made your way to the train this year. Now, let me see if I can remember what happened last year?" He tapped his chin mockingly.

Flipping Draco off, Blaise glanced at the redhead, "Are you going to tell us kitten? It's zero hour."

Irritated at both of them, Ginny glared at Blaise, and wondered if sticking out her tongue was a mature reaction to the situation. She needed an out that would give her some semblance of dignity, while shoving it in their face's how big of prats they were.

"Ginny? Where are you!" Lavender's singsong voice wandered into the compartment from the hallway, and Ginny grinned wickedly. Earlier, when Lavender had asked if Draco minded them sitting with him, the others had left at his dismissal, knowing it best not to piss the Slytherin off, but she had decided to stick behind without really saying anything to her friends. She decided she loved Lavender at this moment.

Reaching across Blaise for her coat and bag, Ginny stood up quickly, catching the looks of surprise on both boys' faces. "And that would be my cue, see you later!"

Draco watched her leave, shock in his eyes, as Blaise started to laugh. The blond whipped around to glare at his friend, as he doubled over in mirth, "What are you laughing at?"

"You haven't realized?" Blaise wiped the tears from his eyes, and looked at his friend, "Wow. You really are a stupid git."

Pushing Blaise's legs off the seat, Draco glared at him, "Oh, nice insult there buddy."

"Did you not hear what Lavender shouted?"

"Do I pay attention to unimportant crap like anything that comes out of that girl's mouth?"

"Not so unimportant right now…" Blaise started laughing again, taking in Draco's pissed off expression. This was better than anything they had done to Pansy in the past. Composing himself, Blaise sat up long enough to mock Draco further, "Draco, red hair, freckles, works in that joke shop you mentioned, in 6th year, hanging out with Lavender Brown and them… put it together man!"

Draco's eyes widened as he realized. And then he groaned. "She's a fucking Weasley."

Blaise applauded sarcastically, and grinned again, "Very good Draco. You're only the last one to catch on."

"I wouldn't lord this too much, as you figured out purely from her friend calling her name on the Hogwarts train." Draco leaned his head back again, and closed his eyes with a grimace. This mildly complicated things. But he didn't really care. And he really wanted her back on his lap. "Bloody bat bogey hex."

"Oh, I had almost forgotten about that!" Blaise laughed loudly, "The look on your face! That fueled my laughter for many a day."

"It wasn't so fun at the time though." Draco glared at him, but Blaise caught the edges of his mouth twitching.

Still grinning widely, and snickering under his breath, Blaise stood up to stretch his back. "Ok, I'm going to get changed into my robes. Which you should think about at some point, if your highness is ever so inclined."

Draco waved him off, and tried to sleep, which was rather difficult after what had happened with the redhead… Ginny, he corrected himself viciously.

--

"And so, Miss. Ginny, what exactly where you doing in there with Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy?" Parvati teased, leaning forward to grin at her, "Inquiring minds want to know."

Amid the laughter, Padma raised her dark eyebrow at her sister, "You're a twit, you know that right?"

Parvati grinned, and looked back at Ginny who was studying the ceiling, her pale cheeks slightly flushed. Lavender glanced at her, before bursting into laughter, "Well, I guess that answers that."

"Quiet!" Ginny tried to control her expression, but she couldn't help but start to laugh.

Parvati leaned over to grasp Ginny's hand, "It's ok dear, you can tell us. Plus, Blaise is the new Head Boy, so I mean… that's gotta be good. Power is an aphrodisiac, after all."

Padma turned to her slowly and tapped her own Head Girl badge, "And what does that mean for me?"

"It means you're gonna pull like no one's business this year." Lavender waggled her eyebrows at her.

Rolling her eyes at her friend's mocking laughter, Ginny stuck out her tongue, and grabbed her school uniform, "I'm going to get changed. And someone better get me chocolate if the lady comes around before I get back."

Laughing, she pelted out before they could grab her for further details. She had really gotten close to Parvati and Lavender at the beginning of summer, and they were incredibly silly and giggly, and fun. She was so used to hanging around Harry and them, and being serious, that it was oddly liberating to not have to worry.

Padma, she had gotten to know a few weeks later, and could honestly count her as one of her best friends. More studious than her sister, she was quiet, and Ginny had spent many a night just talking to Padma.

Ginny waved to a few people she knew as she made her way down to the bathrooms, grinning as Dean Thomas yelled that he had made captain of the Quidditch team. Still laughing from being spun around in a big hug, she continued walking along the long corridor.

As she reached for the door, she was wrenched into the nearest one with a loud yelp on her part.

"Did you just yelp?" Blaise grinned down at her, leaning back against the sink in the small room. She stood with her hand at her neck, trying to stop the heart attack that seemed mildly imminent, staring at him for a moment before smacking his arm.

"You surprised me!" A pause, then, "And I do not yelp!"

"I heard a distinct yelp. A high girly yelp." He reached out to tuck a loose curl behind her ear, stroking her cheek in the process. Ginny stared into his eyes, almost mesmerized by what she saw there, her breath catching in the back of her throat.

Smiling slowly at her, he leaned forward to kiss her pink lips slowly, and then speared his fingers into her heavy hair angling her head for better access. Keeping it slow and gentle, Blaise languidly stroked her lips, feeling them open on a gasp.

Ginny grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him closer, before pulling away to take a breath. Leaning her forehead against his, she stared at him, taking in his smile. There was just… something about him and Draco that drew her to them.

"I need to get changed." She spoke quietly, almost afraid to disrupt the stillness surrounding them. Watching his lips curve into that slow smile again, she couldn't help but smile back.

"Can I watch?" Blaise raised his eyebrows with a leer. Ginny laughed and pointed at the door. He winked at her before exiting.

Ginny leaned forward to rest her head against the cool mirror, and studied her reflection. Her lips were red and swollen from just how much she had been kissed… and had kissed today. Her hair was all over the place… It had long been pulled out of the loose ponytail it had been in when she'd left the house this morning.

Blaise wandered until he found Pansy sitting with Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, and Nott. Leaning in, he grinned at her, seeing that she was holding hands with Greg.

"Hey all." At his voice, Pansy jumped up to give him a big hug, "Blaise! You made it! After what happened last year-"

"Hey hey," He interrupted with a wince, "No need to talk about that now."

"Where's Draco?" Pansy looked past him to the doorway, laughing at his antics.

"He's asleep, I believe. I know, how could he with me there, but alas…" Blaise sighed, shooting her a pout, which she laughed at before smacking his arm.

Crabbe leaned over, "How's he doing?" He asked quietly.

"Uhm," Blaise's face turned serious, "I'm not entirely sure. Not great."

Goyle nodded in sympathy, and shot Nott a hard look as he started to speak. His mouth closed, and he looked out the window, effectively ignoring the conversation.

"Does he want company?" Pansy asked with a concerned look, "Can I do anything?"

Blaise smiled at her sadly, "Probably not, but thanks Pans." He squeezed her tightly before leaning over to kiss Millicent's cheek, "Hey Milly."

"Don't call me that, Blaise." She narrowed her eyes at him threatening, but started laughing when he crossed his eyes at her.

"I'll definitely see you all when we get to the castle, and you'll see Draco too." Blaise grinned, "I have someone that needs attending to, otherwise you know I'd stay." He wiggled his eyebrows, giving extra emphasis to his comments as the group laughed.

"You're such a man-whore." Pansy remarked dryly.

"You love it."

Breathing slowly, Ginny concentrated on changing into the blouse and pleated skirt that made up her uniform. As she was rolling up her knee socks, there was a light knock at the door. "It's occupied!"

"Yes, I know. Can I come in?" Blaise grinned at her as she opened the door with a suspicious look.

"If you keep your hands to yourself, yes, you can." She arched an eyebrow at him as he came in, his dark robes showing far too much of his body's form.

"I don't know if I can keep my hands to myself." He admitted cheerfully, "I've never really tried before."

She rolled her eyes at him, and reached around him for her school tie. He grabbed it out of her hands, and motioned for her to turn away from him.

"Ooh, kinky, shall I close my eyes?" She grinned at him in the mirror. Smiling at her, he reached around to place it around her neck, deftly tying it in place. "That's for later, kitten. Gryffindor… My fingers feel like burning touching this, Ginny."

"Huh. I'll remind you of that next time you try to touch me then."

She smiled at him sweetly as he smoothed her lapels down over the red and yellow stripes. He pointed at his own green silk tie, "Slytherin is the way to go. You really should see about being re-sorted, Gryffindor is stinky."

"Stinky?" She arched an eyebrow at his choice of words. He nodded solemnly, and started adjusting the tie down the front of her shirt, before she smacked his hand out of the way to do it herself, "It does not take that much time or effort to smooth down a tie, you pervert."

Blaise threw his hands in the air, and grinned at her shamelessly, "Fine, fine." He pulled her robes up to place on her shoulders with a quick kiss on the side of her neck. Holding her hair out of his way, he licked her pulse before biting it gently.

Ginny gasped as Blaise's lips, teeth, and tongue explored the side of her neck. She leaned back into him, feeling his arms encircle her waist languidly. His eyes sought her out in the mirror as he sucked on the pale skin of her neck.

"Where's…" She gasped as he scraped her teeth along her sensitive skin, "Where's your 'better' half?"

Blaise rested his head on her shoulder, "I think he's asleep."

"Did he figure it out?" Her eyes clouded with a thread of doubt, despite Blaise's ever-present smile.

"Yes." He stared at her, seeing her hesitation, "It took me spelling it out to the letter, but he figured it out, Ginny Weasley." He kissed the side of her neck again.

"Did he," She paused, swallowing quickly as he did more wonderful things to her skin, "Did he care?"

"Of course he cares." He wrapped his arms around her even more tightly, holding her to his solid form, "I don't really think it's that big a deal though."

Ginny snorted lightly, "Yeah, right."

"Is this self-doubt I see? What happened to the feisty redhead who teased both of us and won at least twice?" He grinned widely at her, "Who, despite having gone to school with both of us for the last five years, still managed to completely hide her identity from us?"

"Hey, I did not hide my identity!" She turned around slightly to glare at him, "You were both dumb enough not to realize, and I just played along."

Blaise laughed quietly, and smoothed his thumb over her lower lip, "No hard feelings."

"Yeah, but what about Draco?" Ginny looked at him intently, not quite sure herself why it meant so much to her. It just… did.

"Congratulations on being Head Boy, by the way, I didn't know."

"Yes, well, I have always felt that I brought a lot to this school, and this has just solidified my belief in myself."

"Well, it's good to know that you don't suffer from a lack of self-confidence."

Blaise smiled at her tenderly, and tugged on her earlobe with his teeth, smiling as that elicited a gasp from her, "I have no idea. You'd have to talk to him."

She shot him a crooked smile, and then tried to suppress the yawn she could feel coming. It was a Weasley family joke by this point that if she was in a car, boat, train, any moving vehicle, she would fall asleep. She couldn't help the next yawn, and arched her back into Blaise as she covered her mouth.

Snickering under his breath, Blaise reached over to open the door, and picked up Ginny's discarded clothing with one hand, and propelled her out in front of him with the other.

Allowing herself to be buffeted along, Ginny found herself back in the compartment with Draco. She turned to glare at Blaise, and made to move past him back to the corridor, before he pushed her into the seat opposite Draco.

Sneaking a quick glance at the blond who was causing her issues, Ginny was amused to find that he was completely asleep. She looked at Blaise who raised his dark eyebrows in a 'see? I told you so' movement. Ginny snickered lightly at the image of Draco's head back, mouth open, and looking much more innocent than she could ever have imagined he could look.

Blaise settled himself beside her, leaning against the window, and threw his arm across her slight shoulders to hug her to his side. Ginny arranged herself more comfortably, tucking her legs up, and nestled her head into Blaise's chest. Feeling his warmth penetrate through her robes, she quickly slipped into sleep.

Chuckling to himself, Blaise looked down at the small redhead, and at Draco. It was enough to make a guy feel a little insulted that they both were able to fall asleep despite his excellent company.

The Hogwart's train hit the mountains almost an hour later, and Blaise watched as Ginny almost flew from the seat before grabbing her and dragging her onto his lap with both arms wrapped tightly around her. He kissed her forehead, and tried to concentrate on sleep.

Blaise never really slept. Insomnia had plagued him for a long time. He shuddered, remembering the reason, and knew there was no hope of sleeping now. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a novel, and stroked Ginny's flaming hair as he read.

Ginny was jostled awake at some point later, and opened her eyes blearily to look into Draco's silver gaze, "Draco?" She breathed quietly.

He shot her a small smile, and kept walking. Ginny curled into him, and went back to sleep.

Blaise grinned as he watched Draco carrying Ginny into the carriage, and went to pat the Thestrals that were tethered to the front. He felt an affinity for these strange animals, and usually went out of his way to feed them, and be with them. It comforted him.

Giving the Thestrals one last look, he climbed into the carriage to settle beside Draco, who had Ginny curled up in his lap.

"Did she even wake up?" Blaise asked with a low snicker. Draco shook his head, and stared down at the sleeping girl. She had felt so little and vulnerable. He shook his head again, and remembered the look on that silly bint Lavender's face when he had walked past with Ginny. Had she winked at him? He shuddered.

Blaise desperately wanted to ask if Draco was okay, but he knew that that was a good way to get his head bitten off. And not in the good way. He instead just focused on Draco's down turned face, and watched.

"Don't."

Blaise widened his eyes, "What?"

"Just don't."

"Ok then."

Draco sighed, and looked out the window, watching the trees pass in silence. This could get interesting. Seeing that they were approaching the castle, Draco shook Ginny lightly, "Red? Come on baby, you have to wake up now."

He was mildly impressed at home dead to the world she was. Not even a twitch. Blaise chuckled.

"Ginny? Come on." Draco groaned as another attempt went unnoticed. He looked up at Blaise, and grinned wickedly. Only one option was left. Well, two actually, but he betted she wouldn't want to be dumped on the floor of the carriage.

Leaning down, he brushed a kiss against her soft lips, feeling them respond slightly even in her sleep. Using his teeth, he pulled at her full bottom lip, and Ginny moaned quietly, her eyes opening slightly to stare up at him. He stared at her expressionlessly.

Ginny rubbed her fist against her eyes, and then continued to study Draco's pale face which looked carved as if in stone, the only movement there was found in his eyes. She slowly reached up to trail her slender fingers over his lips, feeling the silky texture.

Draco couldn't look away from the little temptress he held, instead opened his mouth to softly bite the tip of her forefinger. She pulled her hand back and grinned widely at him, before turning her head to look for Blaise. He waved at her with a smirk.

Ginny sat up slowly, wincing as she felt her muscles protest against being asleep in an awkward position for that long. Draco grimaced as she shifted in his lap, and he grabbed her hips to hold her in place. Whipping her head around to look at him, she grinned smugly at his discomfort.

"You're evil."

"I never claimed to be otherwise." She grinned before squirming her bum again, watching him wince in protest, his grip tightening on her hips.

Blaise snickered, watching them with amusement, "I told you you should have been in Slytherin, kitten." Draco grinned at him, before glaring at the redhead as she decided to move again, "Stop that, or you're going on the floor."

Ginny pouted for a moment, before cuddling back into Draco's chest, turning to watch Blaise. It was odd that she felt this comfortable with both of them. It felt like… she had known them forever. That worried her slightly, as she was used to being fully in charge… not of sharing power.

Trying to compare them to the last person she had dated, however casual it had been, was inconceivable. Seamus had been a lot of fun… but already she cared more about Blaise and Draco then she ever had about him. And Harry… well, she wasn't ready to really think about that relationship yet.

"When did you two meet, by the way?" She asked curiously, not realizing that she had no idea.

Blaise grinned, which she was coming to realize was a bad sign, "When we were five at a dance class."

"Dance class?" She arched an eyebrow at him, and glanced up at Draco's impassive face, "I can't really picture that."

"Oh, we had a great time." Blaise widened his eyes innocently, and grinned again, as Draco interrupted dryly with, "Blaise had a little more fun than anyone else though."

Ginny looked at him again, "How so?" To her amazement, a faint flush of colour appeared across Blaise's high cheekbones, and he coughed while staring at the ceiling. Ginny grinned, recognizing the forced innocence of his expression from many years living with the twins.

"Are you going to tell me now, or later?"

"Later." Blaise immediately replied, "Definitely later."

Draco leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You should ask him about why he missed the train last year."

Ginny's eyes gleamed as Blaise looked suspicious, "Hey Blaise, why did you miss the train last year?"

Blaise groaned, but then stopped short, "Wait, did you just call me Blaise?"

"Wait, are you avoiding the question?" Ginny mocked with a smile.

"Another story for later." He smirked, and leaned his head back. Draco shook his head, and watched the castle coming up quickly beside the carriage.

"And another year begins at Hogwarts." Draco spoke quietly.

--

Ginny linked arms with Lavender, and pulled her out of the common room to head to the banquet, skipping along the hall mockingly, the two girls laughing at their own antics.

Parvati ran wildly to catch up, and started singing a Muggle tune she had heard over the break loudly, and really out of tune.

"Oh gods! Stop singing!" Padma caught up with them just outside the door of the Hall, smacking her twin lightly. Ginny giggled and reached forward to push on the doors, running to the Gryffindor table as Lavender fell behind.

In one of her more graceful moves, Ginny grabbed Dean's shoulders to stop herself, and swung onto the bench beside him, gulping down half of his pumpkin juice before he realized.

"Hey! You bugger! Get your own!" He laughed at her, taking back the goblet. Ginny pouted, and laughed as she saw Parvati slide into place beside Seamus, Lavender on her heels.

"I totally won." She held her arms up over her head, sticking her tongue out at her girlfriends.

"Have you all been drinking?" Dean asked, putting a friendly arm around Ginny's shoulders.

"Bugger, I wish." Lavender smirked at him, reaching for his goblet before he could stop her.

Dean tried to grab it, pouting as Ginny grabbed his arm to help Lavender, "How was that fair? You know that they're going to fill everyone's goblet in about a second, and yet you both nick mine."

"Are you three?" Seamus stuck up for Dean, his grin giving away just how serious he took the situation. Ginny glared at him mockingly, and quickly aimed a kick at his shin from across the table, "Hey!"

Ginny smiled at him serenely, and beckoned for the goblet from Lavender to take a sip, watching the entrance of the first years with interest as Dean grabbed his now-empty goblet back from her.

Unbidden, her eyes darted to the Slytherin table across the hall, and she noticed that half of that house weren't even there yet, including Blaise and Draco. Her eyes widened, and she wondered where they were.

Parvati watched her friend with a grin, "Who are you looking for Gin?"

That brought everyone's attention to the small redhead, and Parvati was too quick for her, so she ended up kicking the table leg, instead of her original target.

Reaching down to rub her sore toes through her shoe, Ginny glared at her amid the general laughter.

Colin leaned over, "Where exactly were you on the train? I think I saw you for a minute the whole trip."

Lavender and Parvati cracked up, ignoring Ginny's glare. Feeling a prickle on the back of her neck, she turned to watch Blaise and Draco walking into the Great Hall, leading a small group of Slytherins including Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco looked every inch the cold Slytherin prince, and Ginny shivered, knowing just how warm he could be. Blaise, by contrast, winked at her exaggeratedly before sitting down.

Ginny grinned, and then caught the eye of Padma over at the Ravenclaw table, who looked at the Slytherins, and back to her significantly with raised eyebrows. Ginny mouthed 'we'll talk later' to her with a shake of her head. Padma smiled serenely, and turned to talk to the person beside her.

Professor McGonagall chose that moment to stand and welcome the new first years to Hogwarts. Ginny felt a wave of sadness wash through her as she was reminded again of why Dumbledore was not giving the speech this year.

Draco watched McGonagall with a stony expression, and felt Blaise's hand squeeze his knee. He grabbed onto his hand, and held on tight beneath the safe cover of the table. Blaise was one of the only people who had an inkling of all that had happened the year before and over the summer.

Ginny bowed her head, and tried to wipe away a tear that had appeared on her cheek, and she took the tissue that was offered quietly by Dean with a grateful smile.

Not much was known about the night that Dumbledore died. She had known not to ask Harry about it, as it was incredibly painful for the dark-haired wizard, but that didn't mean she didn't want to know. It was the opposite in fact.

Dumbledore had always been a confidant of Ginny's, since her first year experiences within the Chamber of Secrets. For him to be gone… Well, no one really understood how much it had affected her. It had really impressed upon her the need to act for herself, and to live her life as fully as possible, as her mentor had done. She had no idea how she was going to get through the new school year without their weekly Thursday night meetings.

Ginny wiped the tissue over her eyes again, before turning to watch the sorting hat proclaiming the first years to their new houses. She looked up to meet Blaise's dark eyes, and shot her a sad, crooked smile that she had never seen before on his face.

Standing up abruptly, Draco stalked from the Great Hall, unable to sit there any longer. Blaise watched him go, worried for his friend and lover.

As soon as dinner was finished, Padma made her way over to Ginny's side, and smiled at her, "Prefect meeting time. You ready?"

Ginny smiled back, grateful for the distraction, "You bet. Is now too soon to be sucking up to the Head Girl?"

Padma thought on it for a moment, "No, I believe it is never too early for that." She smiled again, and held out her hand to help Ginny up, "Come on Colin, you too after you show the first years to the dorm." He smiled, and rubbed his hands together in a shifty way before yelling for the small group of students to follow him.

Waving goodbye to the rest of the group, they made their way to the Prefect common room, seeing that about half of the Prefects from the other houses were there already. Ginny threw herself across one of the couches, and stared at the ceiling to wait for the stragglers.

"Ok, ok, I'm here, the fun can begin!" Blaise entered the room, with his hands clasped over his head, waiting for his adoring following. Spotting Ginny stretched out on the couch, he wandered over to her, and pulled up her legs long enough to sit with her draped over him.

Craning her neck, Ginny grinned at him, before looking back at the ceiling, "Aren't you supposed to be running this meeting?"

"Yes, but frankly, Padma scares me." The witch in question, unfortunately for him, heard that cheeky comment, and smacked him across the back of the head as she passed.

"Blaise, where are the Slytherin Prefects? Draco and Pansy, right?" She asked, checking her clipboard.

Ginny could feel Blaise tense slightly, before he answered smoothly, "They will be here shortly, and I will fill them in on anything they miss. We'll just start without them." Raising her head, Ginny arched an eyebrow at him, eyes widening when she saw his face was absolutely expressionless.

Padma shrugged, and started going over the Prefect duties, and patrolling schedule for each evening and weekend. The patrols always happened in pairs of both sexes, from different houses, and Ginny was happy, though a little apprehensive when she heard she was paired with Draco.

She had noticed him leave the Great Hall before dinner had even started, and she was curious as to why. Never having seen Draco do anything based purely on emotion, Ginny was amazed that she would even think so in this situation.

Blaise nodded absent-mindedly as he listened to Padma go over everything, and slipped his hand under Ginny's voluminous robes to stroke her bare knee. He felt her muscles tense at his touch, but she did nothing to stop him. He grinned to himself, wondering how far he could take this before she reacted.

Using feather light touches, he stroked ever widening circles over her knee, tickling the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Ginny's breath hitched, but she made no move, feeling his magic fingers moving between her legs.

Blaise was almost at her panties, feeling the heat radiating there, when Ginny's legs clenched shut around his fingers. She raised her head to glare at him, and he removed his hand with a cheeky grin, not in the least abashed of his actions in a roomful of other students.

Padma watched the exchange out of the corner of her eyes with a feeling of concern. She knew how close Ginny was getting to both Blaise and Draco, and it made her feel mildly uneasy as she could sense just how many secrets they held. She worried for her friend, but knew that Ginny was more than capable of taking care of herself.

Shaking her head, Padma dismissed the meeting, and turned to glare at the Head Boy, who was supposed to share the responsibilities, not feeling up her best friend. He grinned at her with his dark hair dangling in his eyes, and she sighed. It was going to be a long year. Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned to leave to get herself ready for the first day of school the next day.

A/N: Yes, I know... I'm mean... and I know there was a lot of Ginny/Blaise, but trust me, Draco will more than have his turn. I took the advice from an excellent reviewer, and really inserted Padma into the story. Remember that the trio is not in school this year... Thank you to all that reviewed, and I will try to update again shortly!


	5. My Isolation

WARNING: Slash ahead.

Chapter 5:

Ginny hugged her knees to her chest protectively, and looked over at Padma who was dangling her bare legs in the lake. Thursday nights at Hogwarts, and she was not sitting with Dumbledore in his office, having a nice cup of tea.

Angrily wiping her hand over her cheeks again, she turned her head to look at the monument, remembering her pain from that day. She hadn't really been able to do anything about it at the time, Harry had had to come first. She clenched her fists at the thought.

Harry had come first since he had stepped into her life when she was ten. How was that healthy? So much of her identity had been wrapped around what he thought, what he wanted. How they even got together was based completely on what he wanted, and when. Before that point, he had never noticed her.

Padma coughed quietly, and Ginny turned to look at her again. She was staring off in the distance, lost in her own thoughts. She was one of those rare people who was just so… serene. Padma was so calm and quiet, that she put Ginny at ease.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Padma turned her dark eyes to Ginny, asking with her musical soft voice. Ginny shook her head, knowing that the issue wouldn't be pushed. Sure enough, Padma nodded her head in acceptance, and leaned back on her arms to let the sun beat down on her face.

Ginny sighed to herself. No more lemon drops… no more twinkly blue eyes that knew everything… no more Fawkes eating candy out of her hand… It was like a physical ache how much she missed Dumbledore.

Padma knew about the weekly talks that Ginny and the Headmaster had had, but she just couldn't understand. It was like Ginny had lost a father…

Blaise looked up as his door opened to admit a somewhat disheveled Draco. He slowly smiled and put his quill down on the foot of parchment he was trying to fill for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class the next day.

"You're not finished?" Draco drawled, leaning against the wall and watching Blaise with lust-filled eyes.

"I had extra Herbology homework that I wasn't counting on." Blaise stretched his arms over his head, "Who knew that Sprout would load on the N.E.W.T. stuff too? Blasphemy."

Draco grinned at him, and threw himself across Blaise's large bed, looking around the single Head Boy room. One of the many perks of the position.

Still staring up at the ceiling, Draco wondered, "When are you going to be finished?"

"Uh…" Blaise looked through his parchment, "Awhile. When did you finish yours?"

"Last night." Draco closed his eyes, relaxing back against the large pillows. Blaise watched him for a moment, before groaning and going back to his work.

Thinking about Ginny Weasley, who he hadn't talked to since the first day of school, Draco slipped into sleep, confused about why he would still be thinking about a girl he hadn't even slept with… yet.

Working hard to keep his attention on the parchment, Blaise couldn't help glancing at the blond sprawled across his bed, his lithe muscular form fully relaxed in sleep. Biting back an oath, Blaise again tried to concentrate on outlining the forms vampires were able to take, and their powers.

Finally finishing at two feet of parchment, he threw the sand across it quickly, and left it to dry, as he rose slowly to look at Draco. He was so pale against the inky darkness of Blaise's sheets… Blaise's mouth watered at he thought about how he would wake him up.

Quickly pulling off his own clothes, Blaise knelt on the side of the bed beside Draco, just contemplating him for a moment.

Pushing up the thin t-shirt to expose Draco's lightly muscled upper body, Blaise placed a light kiss on his stomach just below his bellybutton, smiling as the muscles jumped under his lips.

Pulling the drawstring on his pajama bottoms, Blaise slipped his hand in to grip Draco, his skillful fingers quickly bringing him to full hardness, before reaching over to pull the silk pants off of him altogether.

Draco woke up with a moan, a little confused as he stared at the ceiling feeling the silky wet warm encase his cock again. His hips came off the bed involuntarily, and Draco moaned again, recognizing Blaise's touch.

"Can I always wake up like this?" He murmured to the top of Blaise's downbent head. Raising his head to look into the silvery eyes, Blaise winked at him, before concentrating again on his task.

Tracing his tongue along the thick veins, he slowly sucked as much of Draco as he could, before pulling back up to work his tongue in circles on the sensitive tip, his hand tightly gripping the base.

Draco gasped and reached down to grab Blaise's upper arms, pulling him to eye level. Blaise pouted slightly, before leaning in to kiss Draco deeply, bodies rubbing in a pleasurable way.

Flipping Blaise over, Draco kissed along his jaw, and nudged his head to one side to slowly suck on his earlobe, causing him to moan loudly, his hips moving beneath Draco's impatiently.

Running his teeth down the side of Blaise's pale neck, Draco grinned as he heard the moans coming from his lover's throat. He ran a hand down the tight muscles of Blaise's chest, lingering on the definition of his abs, scraping his nails down to his thigh, bypassing what Blaise most wanted touched.

Gasping, Blaise shifted his body around, cursing Draco under his breath, "You're a fucking tease, Drake."

Draco pulled back to grin at him, slowly dragging one finger across Blaise's stomach to rest on his other defined hipbone, again, just bypassing the hard cock between. Blaise moaned loudly, and flipped Draco onto his back in frustration.

Laughing, Draco pulled Blaise back down to him, placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth, before slowly nibbling the full lower lip. Blaise all but growled, frustrated at Draco's playfulness, and pulled off of him completely.

"Hey!" Draco frowned, until he saw Blaise lowering himself back onto the bed, his mouth at Draco's crotch. Draco moved down slightly to pull Blaise's rock hard cock into his own mouth, running his hand along his smooth thighs.

Blaise froze as he felt himself on the edge, and quickly threw his mind open as he came hard in Draco's mouth, throwing back his head and moaning at the pleasure of it as he felt Draco do the same.

Their link allowed them to prolong the pleasure to an almost painful point, and they lay there for long moments, gasping for air and shuddering before Blaise pulled himself back up to lie beside Draco.

Ginny shot bolt upright in her bed at the other end of the castle, waves of intense pleasure rolling over her as she gasped loudly, her heart thudding in her ears. Looking around blearily for the cause, she shuddered as the feelings continued to wash over her.

Confused, she pulled herself out of the bed, and walked to the bathroom to get some water, her legs shaking with the effort of keeping her upright.

"What the hell…" She muttered to herself, reaching a hand out grasp the post of her bed. Shaking her head, she felt her panties sticking to her in a most uncomfortable fashion.

Feeling as if she had just been shagged long and heard, and had an explosive orgasm, she gulped down the cold water with a still shaking hand. Looking at herself in the mirror, Ginny took in her flushed cheeks, and almost too-bright eyes in a daze.

She was almost scared about the intensity of what she had just felt. How could she have gone from completely asleep, to coming multiple times without anyone even touching her?

Sighing, she turned to grab her night robe, and wander down to the common room. There was no way she was going back to sleep anytime soon. Her pulse was still racing.

Drawing her legs under her on the plush red couch, Ginny stared into the fire. She had received an owl today… which in and of itself, was not unusual, but it was Hedwig. The snow owl was pretty distinctive. Harry had written.

Ginny had opened the letter with apprehension. It was a single page…

_Dear Ginny,_

_We're in Spain right now. It's hot. We're getting closer to completing our mission, and Ron and Hermione say hi. _

_I hope you're having fun at Hogwarts, and aren't too bored with us not there with you. I hope the team finds a new seeker. I miss Quidditch already. Make sure you work on your right handed hook, as I noticed that looking a little weak at the last practice we had. _

_I miss you Ginny. I'm sorry for leaving, but I couldn't bear the goodbye. We both knew this would happen. I couldn't stay there while Voldemort was still loose. I just… I miss you Ginny. _

_Please wait for me. I love miss you. _

_Regards, Harry._

The letter had swiftly gotten balled up and tossed in the fire, but Ginny couldn't stop thinking about it. How could she not have seen how low on his list she came? She didn't deserve that. He hadn't even given her a choice about what she wanted, he had treated her as a child.

Ginny clenched her eyes shut, and breathed deeply, trying to think about something… anything… else. Her mind turned to the two Slytherin boys that had her almost enthralled. She had not spoken to either of them since the Prefect meeting almost a week ago.

Seeing them, just across the Great Hall, or down a corridor… it was incredibly disconcerting. Neither of them had sought her out though, and through sheer pride, she had done the same.

Wincing, Ginny realized that she had patrol with Draco the next evening. At least it would be Friday.

Leaning her head back against the couch, Ginny closed her eyes tightly, trying to dispel thoughts of them. They obviously weren't worth her time… She wasn't used to boys not pursuing her. As if to prove her point, Seamus ambled down the stairs, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a white tank top.

Spotting Ginny, he grinned, and walked over to stand in front of her, staring at her face until she opened her eyes to look at him.

"Fancy meeting you here, love." Seamus smoothed his fingers through her unruly hair, tweaking the curls.

"Seamus." She acknowledged sleepily. He sat down beside her, resting his head in her lap to stretch out along the full seat.

Ginny looked up the ceiling with mock irritation, as he grinned up at her, "Comfortable?"

He placed a hand under his head, his fingers scraping along the sensitive skin between her legs purposefully, before reaching it's destination to support his neck. Smirking up at her, he noticed that she tensed at the touch.

Ginny grimaced as Seamus brushed against her. She had never felt so sensitive before, due to whatever had happened while she was still asleep. Knowing that Seamus assumed it was his doing, she rolled her eyes and didn't say anything.

"Do you miss me yet, Ginny?" He asked casually, trying to read her bright blue eyes.

She leaned down until their mouths were a mere breath apart, "You haven't given me a chance to."

As she was about to pull away, his other hand clasped the back of her neck, bringing her mouth back down, as his lips smashed into hers. Ginny gasped, and he used the opportunity to quickly shove his tongue into her mouth, stroking hers with confidence.

For a moment, Ginny tried to respond with equal passion, but she realized her body and her mind just weren't into it. Pulling away from Seamus gently, she shook her head at the confusion in his eyes.

He closed them slowly, working on evening out his breathing. Ginny was just so… well, he had missed her. He had missed her a lot after she had called things off in August.

Not even really noticing her in previous years, she had seemed to completely change when Harry had left. It was like she had grown up in one fell swoop, and he couldn't get enough of her. Just the memories from their time together in the summer were enough to get him hard.

Seamus gulped hard, and looked back at Ginny's face. She was staring at him, willing him to understand, and he smiled tightly. It was almost impossible to get or stay angry at her.

Running his fingers along the curve of her cheek, he closed his eyes again, and felt himself drift off to sleep.

Ginny leaned her head back again, feeling Seamus' breathing even. She was so confused. And a little irritated. The perfect opportunity had presented itself to fulfill the ache between her legs, and she hadn't wanted it, even knowing full well what exactly Seamus was capable of.

Running her hand over her eyes, she curled into the sleeping boy, and closed her eyes, feeling his warmth seep into her. Tomorrow would be soon enough to figure it all out.

Blaise looked over as Draco slowly woke up, pushing his silvery hair out of his eyes with a yawn.

"Sleep well?"

Draco looked at Blaise who was reading a book languidly beside him, and sighed, "Did you sleep at all?"

The dark hair youth looked away, unwilling to meet the mercury eyes and the concern there. "I think you know the answer to that."

Reaching out to touch his shoulder, Draco frowned when Blaise flinched from the contact. Even though he knew it was instinct rather than anything personal, it still hurt.

Blaise's shoulders drooped as he felt Draco's hurt, and turned pained eyes to the blond.

"When was the last time you slept?" Draco asked quietly. Blaise shrugged nonchalantly and looked off in the distance, before swinging his legs over the side of the bed to get up.

"I need to get ready for Herbology." He muttered as he wandered into the bathroom. Draco frowned, but let him go.

Sitting at the Slytherin table, eating his eggs slowly, Draco's eyes drifted to a familiar redhead. He had been waiting for her to approach them, but it seemed like she might be just as, if not more, stubborn than he gave her credit for. It had become a little game.

He looked to his side to see Blaise laughing at something Pansy had said, his arm holding her against him tightly as they conversed. Draco shook his head, a small smile gracing his lips. Blaise could have been a thespian.

Ginny could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of turning to look. Instead, she bade her friends goodbye, and gathered up her belongings to leave for Advanced Potions.

Missing lunch to finish her Transfiguration essay for McGonagall, Ginny ran for dinner to scarf down as much as possible before patrolling started.

Lavender watched her with wide eyes, "Gin, slow down… you're going to make yourself sick."

"Can't stop," She paused quickly between mouthfuls, "too hungry."

"Do you have patrol tonight?" Parvati reached over for more chicken, grinning at Colin who was trying to reach past her for the chips. Ginny nodded, gulping down her pumpkin juice.

"Oh, that's sexy." Dean watched her with raised eyebrows, laughing as he spotted her hard-to-conceal Weasley blush.

Colin watched the proceedings with a small smile, noticing that Seamus and Ginny were taking pains to not even look at each other. Interesting.

Ginny was vastly uncomfortable. Where had the heartless Seamus who was only good for a shag or two gone? He had to start caring, damn it all.

She had woken up that morning hugging his head to her stomach, his arms wrapped around one of her thighs. Thankfully, she had re-gained consciousness long before the rest of Gryffindor tower had woken up, or she would never have heard the end of it.

Checking her watch with a curse, she realized she was about to be late for patrols. Quickly, she looked over at the Ravenclaw table, to see Padma staring at her with her arm in the air, impatiently tapping her own watch. Ginny grimaced, and stood up.

"I'll have to see you all later. Patrol."

Ginny approached the Slytherin table with apprehension that she tried desperately not to show. Luckily, Blaise spotted her before Draco, and he grinned cheekily at her, before pulling her down to sit between them.

Draco looked to his left, as he felt Blaise pull someone down. Seeing the back of a redhead, he grinned over her at Blaise.

"Hello Kitten." Blaise winked at her outrageously, "To what do we owe the honour?"

Pansy giggled as she saw Blaise lay it on thick, "Hey Ginny."

Ginny smiled tightly at the other girl, not really ever having spoken to her before, and mildly surprised that she knew her name, "Hi Pansy. I'm actually here to do patrol with Draco."

The man in question cleared his throat quietly, and waited for Ginny to look at him. Sighing, she caught Blaise's smirk briefly, before she turned to look into silver eyes, "Are you ready Malfoy?"

He stared at her, before leaning over so his lips were inches from her ear, "I thought it was Draco now."

She laughed at his seductive tone, turning her face so she could see his eyes again, "Only if you're a really good boy." Standing up, she leaned over to kiss Blaise's cheek before walking to the doorway of the Great Hall.

Draco looked as Blaise snickered softly, before following her out. The rest of the Slytherin table watched them go in bemusement, Pansy covering her hand to stop the laughter.

As they walked through the corridors, Ginny tried to look up at Draco from the corner of her eyes, wondering what the hell was going through his head. It didn't help that he'd abandoned his robes with Blaise, and that he was clothed simply in his school uniform which showed off his lightly muscled form. She licked her suddenly dry lips.

Draco caught the sight of Ginny's small pink tongue gliding over her pouty lips, and nearly moaned. The little temptress…

"Are we just going to walk around in silence?" Ginny quickly worked up the nerve, determined to not let him see she was nervous. He glanced at her with amusement dancing in his eyes, and her shoulders slumped slightly. So much for that idea.

"Do you have a problem with silence?" He stopped, and grabbed her arm, "Does it unnerve you?"

Ginny stared up into his fallen-angel face, and swallowed, "No, I just thought it might get very boring."

"How could you be bored with me? It's almost impossible. What would you recommend?" He let go of her to lean against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at her with mercury eyes. Draco wondered just how far her Gryffindor courage would push her.

Ginny walked up to him slowly, one hand reaching up to stroke down the side of his neck to where his tie hung loose, reveling in the feel of the smooth pure skin there. Draco suppressed a shudder at the deceptively innocent touch.

She braced herself on his shoulders, and rose up on her tiptoes to brush her mouth against his. Reaching up with pale elegant hands, fingers slightly roughened by years of Quidditch, he cupped her jaw and brushed small kisses along her lips again and again, teasing them both.

Ginny moaned quietly, moving her arms to the back of his neck in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Draco sighed as he felt her tongue snake out, tasting his lips, before moving inside to stroke his mouth. She tasted like cinnamon.

Ginny angled her head, deepening the kiss to an almost painful level, feeling his mouth on her's again and again, only pulling away for breath.

Draco placed both hands on her lower back, pulling her in tightly, feeling her need as surely as his own.

"Ginny." He pulled away, resting his forehead on hers, "I want you." It was simply a statement of fact.

She stared up at him, desire resonating through her, "Ok…" He slowly smiled at her, before stepping away to hold out his hand to her.

Knowing that this was quite possibly the point of no return, Ginny stared at his hand for a moment, trying to see through the haze of lust, shaking to try to clear her head. She stared at his pale fingers, each of long and slender… an artist's hand.

Slowly, she reached out to him, and he clasped her hand gently, before pulling her after him.

Down corridors, staircases, places Ginny had never seen before, until they came upon a portrait of a severe looking Salazar Slytherin. Muttering, the portrait swung upon, and she was pulled into a sea of black and green leather, darkness prevailing everywhere she looked in a total antithesis to the Gryffindor common room.

Pulling her down a long hall, a hidden door swung upon as he stopped in front of the wall, and he pulled her into a single bedroom with a large bed dominating the room.

Ginny stared around in bewilderment, "Is this your room?"

"No, Blaise's." He turned to her again, his lips warm and silken, moving her back until she fell on the bed, feeling the softness envelope her. Quickly, his hard body covered hers.

Draco groaned as he felt her soft curves yield to him, his hands quickly pulling off her clothing as they kissed passionately, almost desperately. Ginny's small hands pulled his shirt out of his slack with determination, running her fingers up his stomach to feel his firm chest.

Blaise felt his wards go off as they were charmed to do so whenever he was not in his room, and he relaxed as he realized it was Draco. He concentrated on the feeling further, and realized Draco was not alone.

Standing from the table in the library where he was studying with Pansy and Vincent, he waved off their questions as he made his way quickly to the dungeons.

Desire flickered through his body as Draco opened his mind somewhat to show Blaise a view of a flushed pale body, long red hair spread out in a halo on dark sheets. Stopping to lean his hot forehead against the cool stone, Blaise continued, holding back a moan as he heard Ginny in Draco's mind.

Draco dragged Ginny's blouse open, groaning as he caught the sight of her beautiful flesh encased in black lace. Closing his eyes for a moment for some semblance of control, he opened them again to lean down and lovingly lave his tongue over one pert nipple through the lace.

Ginny gasped as her fingers slid into Draco's silken hair, holding him to her, feeling his tongue doing wondrous things. The friction of the lace with the wetness of his mouth was driving her wild, and she writhed under him, her hips arching up to meet his.

Blaise caught his breath as he stepped into his room, almost desperate for release now. He watched the couple on his bed silently for a moment, taking in Ginny's skin pale against the black lace, Draco suckling her.

Quickly, Blaise climbed up on the bed behind Draco who was nestled between Ginny's thighs. He reached around him, and started pulling Draco's clothing off with a single-minded determination, feeling his lover's skin with each piece.

Ginny spotted Blaise behind Draco, and leaned up to kiss him longing over the silver head, her tongue quickly slipping between his lips to taste him with aggression.

Draco rolled to one side to pull of his clothing, grinning as Blaise quickly took his place on top of the little redhead.

Blaise made short work of Ginny's skirt, and threw her clothing over his shoulder to land somewhere on the floor as he sat back to fully take her in. Feeling him pull away, Ginny opened her eyes to see Blaise staring at her with dark eyes, Draco nuzzling the side of his neck.

Feeling exposed, Ginny made to sit up and pull him back down to her, but Blaise stopped her with a hand between her breasts, holding her in place. He moaned lightly as Draco found a sensitive point on his neck, before smiling tenderly at her, "You're beautiful."

She smiled back, and came up on her knees to kiss his full lips again, tasting traces of Draco there. As the kiss deepened, she felt Draco tugging her small panties down her hips. Helpfully she held up one knee and then the other.

As she felt the scrap of lace leave her, she felt the blond move behind her, nudging her legs apart, and his fingers found her from behind.

Moaning at the feeling of Blaise pressed against her front, and Draco at her back, she broke away from Blaise's lips to pant for breath. His mouth immediately moved down to her stiff nipples, reaching behind to pull her bra apart and off, leaving her completely naked.

Draco traced small circles through the wet curls between Ginny's thighs, centering on her clit as he heard her cry out. He leaned forward to lick a line up the side of her neck, biting the pulse point gently. All of the stimulation threw her over the edge, and she sagged between them with a scream of pleasure.

Catching Ginny, and laying her down between them, Draco held her close with one arm, and reached out to stroke Blaise with the other. Blaise shuddered, pressing himself close to the small trembling female.

"Well, I'm never moving again." Ginny calmed down enough to mumble into Blaise's neck.

Draco nuzzled her hair out of his way to tug on her earlobe, "Are you sure about that love?"

Ginny grinned, feeling Blaise's length swelling against her stomache. She moved up to cradle him between her thighs, and he moaned loudly, panting for breath.

Draco grinned as he heard Blaise, and reached between them, laying his on Ginny's stomach, who flinched lightly as she felt the warmth of the contraception charm.

Throwing her leg over Blaise's hip, she felt Draco reaching between her legs from behind to guide him into her, and she gasped as she felt herself being filled. Despite herself, her eyes drifted closed, as they both stilled.

Blaise moaned, feeling her tightness and warm, and speared his fingers into her thick hair to kiss her deeply, before pulling back slightly, only to push in again. Ginny sighed as she felt the languid rhythm, the exquisite feelings.

Reaching between them again, Draco laid his fingers just above where they were joined, rubbing her clit lightly, bringing her to the brink, before stopping. He did this over and over, until she grabbed Blaise's hips, "More… Harder."

Draco moved away as Blaise flipped Ginny fully onto her back, pulling her hips up for a better angle, and sped up. Moving behind Blaise, he quickly muttered a spell, and sighed as lubricant spread over his crotch.

Holding Blaise's hips in place for moment, he slid home, hearing Blaise moan at the feelings. Ginny looked up, seeing both of them, and arched her hips up even more, causing Blaise to push against her g-spot hard.

Ginny shuddered, and came hard, causing an almost domino affect as Blaise followed shortly after, the stimulation from both ends being too much for him. After a few more strokes, Draco yelled and collapsed to the side.

Blaise shoved himself off Ginny to lie beside her with a groan, "Never moving again. Ever. You can just bury me here. I'm cool with that." Draco rolled his eyes at his, waved his hand, "_Scourgify_."

Ginny giggled, and cuddled into Blaise, reaching out to hold Draco to her front. With a sigh, she felt her eyes closing. Totally spent, she allowed sleep to grab hold.

Draco was nudged awake a few hours later by a concerned Ginny, "Draco? Draco, wake up. There's something wrong with Blaise."

He sat bolt upright at that, and looked on her other side to see Blaise crying in his sleep, his arms over his head as if bound by some invisible force which he was struggling against. Sighing, Draco moved Ginny away, and lay down beside his friend, "It's a nightmare Ginny. Don't worry."

"Blaise? Blaise, it's Draco. Wake up." He wrapped his arms around him, trying to pull his arms down. Blaise quickly woke up, looking fearfully around before focusing on Draco with a shout.

Ginny huddled with her arms around her long legs, watching Draco comfort Blaise, confused and upset by what she had just seen. Draco looked over his shoulder, and spotted Ginny. He smiled at her reassuringly, and held out his arm to her.

Grasping his hand, Ginny closed her eyes as she heard Blaise seem to be gasping for air, silent tears still rolling down his pale cheeks, as Draco hugged him close with his other arm.

Making up her mind, Ginny let go of Draco, and quickly climbed out of the bed to walk around, and press herself to Blaise's other side, trying to give comfort in any way possible. She fell asleep, feeling Blaise shuddering against her.

Draco knew the moment Ginny fell asleep, and he turned silver eyes to Blaise in concern, "Are you ok?"

Blaise looked at him, silence lingering between them, "I have no idea." He tried to grin, but it was too soon, so instead he coiled himself around Ginny's petite form, running his fingers through her long hair, watching it tangle in the moonlight shining through the window.

--

Ginny woke up languidly, feeling an ache between her legs the minute she tried to move. Moaning involuntarily at the pleasurable pain, she turned her head to see Draco asleep beside her, his dark eyelashes forming half moons on his high pale cheekbones, his arms holding her tightly.

She looked around, but could not find Blaise. Frowning at that, she slowly smoothed her fingers over the side of Draco's sculpted face, over his neck, before she flopped on to her back to wallow under the deliciously warm and comfortable sheets.

Sensing Ginny was awake, Blaise stuck his head into his room from the bathroom, and smiled at her as she turned to him. He motioned her over, and she got up, pulling a sheet with her in embarrassment.

Blaise grinned at the show of modesty, "Kitten, honestly, I think I've seen everything." He raised his eyebrows as she came to a stop in front of him. Ginny took a deep breath, and slowly let the sheet fall to her feet, holding her head up to look Blaise in the eyes.

Grinning at her again, Blaise grabbed her hand to pull her into the bathroom, and under the hot water in the shower. Holding Ginny close as the water beat down on them, he rested his cheek on the top of her head for a long moment.

Ginny sighed as the hot water worked to sooth the aches of her body, and she pulled away slightly to brush a kiss across Blaise's lips. Blaise smiled down at her, before turning her away.

Quickly lathering his hands with shampoo, he slowly rubbed it through her long hair, taking care to slowly massage her scalp until she moaned, and then pulling her back under the water to make sure it was all washed away.

Ginny leaned back again Blaise's muscular chest, feeling at peace.

A/N: Thank you so much to all who reviewed!! It gave me inspiration, as I had half of this chapter typed up, before I decided it was crap, and rewrote the whole thing. I wouldn't have put the effort in, if not for the wonderful reviews, so thank you. Hope you enjoyed this! Yeah, Blaise has problems... can anyone guess? Draco does too, but I think those are more obvious. I'm trying not to focus on angst, but there are going to be problems.


	6. Existence is Flawed

Chapter 6:

Blaise leaned down to give Ginny a lingering kiss, crouching on the bed beside her. After a moment, she laughed against his mouth, pushing him away, "If you're late, Padma will kill you. And I'm not joking. She has ways."

"I don't wanna." Blaise pouted before reaching over her to kiss Draco with equal passion. He had to go to their weekly Head meeting, which was just not as fun as one may think, and for some crazy reason, had scheduled it for Saturday morning.

Feeling Ginny's small hands pushing against his stomach, Blaise pulled back from Draco to glare at her mockingly, "If you care so much, why don't you go instead?"

She laughed at the look of hope on his face, and rolled her eyes. Sighing, he turned to leave, glancing back once to take in the sight of his lovers sprawled across his bed wearing nothing but a few thin sheets. Life was just not fair sometimes.

Ginny turned over to look at Draco, who smiled at her, and ran a finger along her pale arm, caressing gently.

"Draco…" Ginny trailed off, unsure how to ask.

"Red…" He mimicked her with a smirk.

"Draco, come on, I'm trying to be serious." Despite her remark, her pink lips twitched, trying not to smile.

He smiled at her innocently, and put both arms behind his head to contemplate her, "Go ahead."

"What happened last night?"

"You need to ask?" He stared at her for a moment mockingly, "I hoped it would have been obvious. Maybe we did something wrong…"

Ginny smacked his stomach lightly before laying her head on his chest, her arm trailing down his side lightly, "I meant with Blaise."

After a long silence, Ginny looked up to see Draco had his eyes closed, his face absolutely expressionless, "Draco?"

"Leave it alone, Ginny." He spoke quietly, an air of finality surrounding his words.

"He woke up crying!" Sitting up, she stared down at him, "What the hell is going on? Please tell me."

Draco ignored her question, and sat up, shaking his hair out of his eyes as he slipped out of the bed. Ginny watched his feline grace take him to the bathroom, and frowned. Pulling her still damp hair back into a loose knot, she climbed out of the now lonely bed.

Spotting her skirt, she stepped into it before pulling her blouse on. Stuffing her undergarments into her bag, she picked up her robe and pulled her tie over her head, the knot lying loosely between her breasts. At least it was Saturday.

"Where are you going?" Ginny turned to see Draco wearing loose silk pajama bottoms, leaning against the wall watching her.

"To my room." She answered shortly. Draco raised his light eyebrows at her tone.

"Just because I won't tell you about something that is none of your business?" Ginny stiffened, and glared at him, "You know it's not even my business to talk about Blaise like that."

Ginny looked at the floor, knowing, even though she hated to admit it, that he was right. She didn't like not knowing though. Draco watched her with eyes that seemed to see too much for her comfort, before he walked to her, placing his arms around her shoulders lightly.

"Ask Blaise about it if you like, but I think I can guarantee he won't say a thing until he's good and ready. And pouting, or getting angry isn't going to make him any more ready." He smiled at her slightly, knowing full well how she normally handled her older brothers.

Ginny smiled back ruefully, and leaned forward to rest her forehead on his chest. "When did you become so smart?"

"Oh, I've always been smart… you've just never chosen to see it before." Draco smirked at her, before leading her back to Blaise's large bed. Ginny laughed, following eagerly.

--

Ginny had spread out her Transfiguration homework over one of the tables in the Gryffindor common room, and was working with an intensity that Dean had never seen from her before. It was positively… Hermione. He shuddered at the thought, before throwing himself into the chair beside her.

Having left a very warm and naked Slytherin an hour before to try and get some homework done before leaving for Hogsmeade, Ginny was in a pretty foul mood. Staying in bed was definitely better than her Transfiguration essay.

"Hey Ginny." He smiled at her, his eyes intently watching.

She looked up with a scowl, "What?"

"Ok, so, not in the best mood." He joked, a small smile curving his dark lips, "I actually came to let you know that we're having Quidditch try outs on Monday at about four. Can you be there?"

Ginny sighed, "Why do I need to be there? You've seen me play many a time."

"Well, I'm making everyone come. I need to make sure the new players jive." Dean grinned at her, before continuing, "I would also like to know if you can try out for our new seeker."

Glancing up at him with surprise, Ginny blinked, "What?"

"Well, we're down a seeker, and I know you can do it… What do you say?" Dean lounged back, his fingers resting on his stomach.

"Well… I'll try out for it, but if there's anyone better, I will make you take that person." Ginny's voice quivered with excitement at the thought of finally getting her dream position.

"Well, that would make two of us." Dean laughed as she threw a quill at him, before getting up to head down to Hogsmeade. He stopped, looking back at her, "Are you going to come down to the village?"

"Yeah, I actually made plans."

Dean nodded, and then spotted the tell-tale blush staining her cheeks, "And who is Miss Gin going with?" He looked closer, spotting something… well, a few somethings littering the pale skin on her neck, "And are those hickies I see? My goodness, someone had a good night."

"Miss. Gin thinks Mr. Thomas should mind his own bloody business."

Laughing, he leaned over to ruffle her curls before he wandered out of the common room. Parvati and Lavender had both already left, having had much the same little exchange with the blushing redhead.

Blaise rubbed his temples as he wandered back to the dungeon. Head Boy was supposed to look pretty, and let the Head Girl do everything, but any notion of that had been dispelled with Padma Patil at the helm. And the worst part was, she was so deceptively quiet and nice, that he hadn't even seen it coming.

Shaking his head, wondering how he had been taken in so thoroughly, he threw his robes into the corner of his room, before looking around. Interesting… when he had left earlier, there had been a naked Draco and Ginny… and now there was no one.

Sighing at the lack of nudity, he noticed the Draco sitting in front of the fire watching him over the top of a book.

"What are you reading?" Blaise asked casually, pouring himself a glass of water from the jug on the table.

"Would you believe Hogwarts: A History?"

"Not really." Blaise sprawled across his bed, still watching Draco, "What happened to Ginny?"

Draco smiled slowly, making Blaise envious of what he had missed with the little redhead, "She left an hour ago to do some homework."

"Why didn't she stay here to do it?"

"Apparently, I was a distraction." Draco smirked, and held his book up to read.

"Are we going to Hogsmeade anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I told Ginny we'd meet her out front at about one. That ok?"

"Definitely," Blaise stared at Draco who was resolutely not looking at him, "Whatever should we do to pass the time until then?"

"You could read."

Pouting slightly, Blaise glared at Draco, "Where's the fun in that?"

"She asked about you." Draco mentioned shortly, ignoring Blaise's comment. Blaise frowned slightly, a little confused, "How so?"

"She wanted to know about your nightmare." Draco gave him a significant look over the top of his book.

"Oh." Blaise considered for a moment, "What did you tell her?"

"That it's none of her business."

Blaise chuckled lightly, "She must have loved that."

"You're going to have to talk to her eventually, you know."

"Not if I can help it." Draco shrugged at the comment, knowing that if he pushed it, Blaise would leave.

Neither of them had had ideal home lives… though they differed greatly. Draco honestly didn't know if he wanted Ginny Weasley to know that much about either of them, and just the fact that he had thought about it, bespoke just how much she had gotten under his skin already. It was mildly disconcerting for him.

Blaise shuddered at the reminder of his nightmare. The first time he had really slept in months, and look what had happened. Nothing helped. He just couldn't… Absent-mindedly, he stroked the raised, whitened scars that wrapped around his wrists like bracelets.

As soon as he realized what he was doing, he forced his hands down to his sides, not looking up, but knowing that Draco was watching him with mercury eyes, that held sadness. It was bad enough that he looked at him like that sometimes, Blaise couldn't stand to think about Ginny looking at him like that.

Ginny left Gryffindor tower, checking to make sure she had her wand still in her pocket securely when she was caught up, and thrown over a broad shoulder in a fireman carry as she yelped.

"See? I told you she yelps." Blaise drawled to Draco as they made their way to the front of the castle.

"I do not yelp!" Ginny tried to wiggle off of his shoulder, her hair hanging heavy over her head. Blaise's only response was to tighten his grip on her hips.

"I heard a yelp." Draco replied mockingly. She whipped her head around to glare at him as he chuckled at her plight.

"You can put me down anytime." Ginny asked hopefully.

"Nah, don't think so." Blaise used his free hand to wave to a few incredulous-looking Hufflepuffs that they passed in the main hallway.

"Put me down NOW!" She yelled, to no avail as both males laughed at her.

Pouting as the blood rushed to her head making her dizzy, she reached down to pinch his bum. Hard.

"Ow!" Blaise yelped as he jumped in surprise, almost dislodging Ginny on her head.

"Don't drop me!" Grabbing hold of his shirt, she managed to keep her balance.

Draco laughed out loud, "You really need to make up your mind."

Crossing her arms across her chest, which was more difficult than it may seem braced against Blaise's strong back, Ginny frowned, and decided she wouldn't say anything else until she was on her own two feet where she belonged.

"Oh, is she giving us the silent treatment now, Draco?" Blaise asked, patting her bum indulgently, and grinning at his friend. The only reaction that got from the girl on his shoulder was a low snort.

"I believe so." Draco craned his neck around Blaise to try to see her face, but it was almost completed obscured by her hair.

"How long do you think she can keep it up?"

"I'm not sure." Reaching out, Draco opened the door for them, watching Ginny's t-shirt ride up in the back, showing off her pale skin. And something else… was that a-

"Why Red, you naughty girl… Is that a tattoo?" Draco moved behind her to rub his finger along the small outline of a star located just over her right buttock where the hem of her pants usually covered. Ginny reached around to swat his hand away, but stubbornly refused to say anything.

"A tattoo?" Blaise turned to him, eyebrows raised, "What is it? And how could we not have noticed it last night?"

"I don't know… I thought we had really explored everything." Draco grinned as he heard a faint growl from under Ginny's hair, "And it's a little star."

"Huh." Blaise processed this information as they passed through Hogwarts front gates, ignoring their gawking classmates who were also on the path, "Kitten, that's rather unexpected."

"Indeed." Draco agreed, "Do you remember how much she enjoyed me sucking on her neck? Have you ever heard sounds like that before? Kind of a mewling moan, with a little bit of a sigh thrown in."

"Never heard it before, but it was hot." Blaise laughed as he felt a small fist punch his side. "You should have heard her in the shower this morning."

"Or after you left."

"My goodness Kitten, you got around today, huh." Laughing, Blaise placed her on her feet as they reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, nimbly avoiding a kick to his shins.

Ginny stood still for a moment, holding her head with both hands in an attempt to stave off the dizziness, and glared at Draco who had started laughing at her highly flushed face. Glaring at him, she pulled her wild hair back into a loose knot.

"So, are you going to tell us about the tattoo?" Blaise grinned at her.

"I'm not talking to you." She poked her finger into his chest, and walked toward Honeyduke's while adjusting her shirt and jeans to cover everything.

Draco chuckled as he watched, and caught up with her to wrap a long arm around Ginny's shoulders, "Come on Red, are you going to talk to me?"

"Well, I shouldn't, because you were an accomplice," She looked up into his silvery eyes, "But I will, because I know it will piss Blaise off."

"See? There's an upside to everything when you really think about it."

Ginny slapped Blaise's hand away from her lower back as he tried to get a glimpse of her tattoo, "Nope. Sorry. Should have thought about that before you decided to go all caveman."

Entering Honeydukes, Ginny inhaled deeply, feeling faint at the overwhelming sugary scent. "Oh my gods, chocolate…" She stroked a large bar covered in metallic foil lovingly, "it's been far too long."

"Should we leave you two alone?" Draco drawled into her ear.

"Quiet… not around the chocolate." Looking around to find her favourite fudge with a hint of mint, she seemed to forget the presence of the two Slytherins.

"It's enough to give one a complex, isn't it." Blaise observed. Draco just watched Ginny try to buy her weight in chocolate, not really thinking about how she was going to get it back to the school. "She's amusing though."

"Ok, I'm good." Ginny held up her huge bag, "We can now do whatever you guys want to."

"Gladrags?" Blaise asked casually, looking at Draco innocently, who began to scowl at the mention of a clothing shop.

Interrupting Blaise with a statement that would earn her Draco's undying gratitude, Ginny wrinkled her nose, "I hate clothes shopping. Can we go get butterbeers?"

Blaise was sure that he saw Draco's eyes well up with pride. "How can you not like clothes shopping?"

"She doesn't have to like it. Let's go to The Three Broomsticks instead." Draco cheerfully pulled Ginny to his side and led her out of the sweets shop. Shoulders drooping, Blaise followed, looking down the street towards Gladrags with a sigh.

"It's not going to work Blaise, so don't try it." Draco drawled back at him as he sauntered away.

Sitting at a table with Blaise and Draco made Ginny feel oddly on display. The waitresses all doted on them, obviously looking forward to the large tips from the two handsome men, and the rest of the clientele seemed to watch them constantly. It made Ginny mildly uncomfortable, but the two Slytherins seemed oblivious to it.

Never having received her food so quickly, Ginny dug in, looking forward to her chocolate which she had promised herself she wouldn't get into until she was back at Hogwarts.

Draco watched her for a moment incredulously, "How are you that slender?"

Ginny glared at him, chewing her food slowly, as Blaise cut in, "That's a rather rude question."

Swallowing quickly, she smiled at him, "Well, thank you Blaise."

"Yeah, Draco, you should know what she does to stay slender…" He winked at her outrageously, causing Ginny to lean over and smack his shoulder, "Bastard."

As Blaise reached forward for a sip of his butterbeer, Ginny noticed thick white lines around his pale wrists. With a start, she realized they were scars… Not just scars, but scars upon scars, raised welts, some which were years old, others that looked more recent.

Shooting a look at his face, he seemed to not have noticed her appraisal, and she sighed in relief. For some reason, she knew that asking about it would gather the same reaction from talking to Draco about his nightmare earlier that morning. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to create scars of that magnitude that obviously magic couldn't have fully healed.

Ginny shook her head to concentrate on the conversation surrounding her.

They sat there long after eating, just enjoying talking about their schoolmates, and classes. Ginny was excited to find out that Blaise had gotten a top grade the year before on the Transfiguration essay that was currently plaguing her, and he promised to help her with it.

Surprisingly, Blaise had been the top student at Hogwarts each year he had attended, second only to Hermione in a couple of classes. Ginny wondered aloud at why she'd never heard that, and Draco answered her dryly, "Because he doesn't make a big deal about it like the mudblood. It's not his entire identity. How do you think he made Head Boy? It wasn't because of his charming personality."

Blaise laughed, but Ginny glared at the name and snapped, "Don't call her that."

"Why not?" Draco leaned back, smirking at her. It was entirely too amusing to get her angry, cheeks flushing, blue eyes sparkling appealingly. Kicking his shin worked to wipe the smirk off his face, and Ginny smiled at him innocently as he glared at her.

Ginny's smile faded as she stared into his stormy eyes, and she squirmed, feeling tendrils of desire curl through her. She stole a glance over at Blaise who was also watching her with darkened eyes, and she breathed in quickly, trying to ignore the charged silence surrounding them.

Wiping suddenly damp hands on her lap, she stared at the top of the table, trying to calm her heartbeat. Ginny closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to not think about the two men who she knew were still watching at her.

Blaise watched as Ginny's nipples hardened under her t-shirt, and shuddered. He exchanged a glance with Draco, and motioned for the door. If they stayed in The Three Broomsticks, something regrettable was going to happen.

Grabbing Ginny's had and her Honeydukes bag, Blaise pulled her to her feet, feeling Draco following quickly, and made their way out of Hogsmeade quickly.

Ginny was almost running to keep up with the two male's long legs, feeling excitement course through her. She was turned on to an almost painful degree, her nipples rubbing hard against the cotton of her shirt, and so wet that it was uncomfortable.

Draco suddenly grabbed Ginny's other wrist, and pulled her into the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, Blaise trailing after them quickly, and drew her up against him as soon as they had coverage from the trail.

Gasping as Draco's tongue invaded her mouth, Ginny quickly found his belt buckle, pulling the pieces of leather apart to wrench down the zipper, feeling Blaise doing the same to her pants, which she stepped out of gratefully.

Blaise quickly pulled her shirt over her head, interrupting Draco's kiss momentarily, quickly palming her breasts, tweaking her nipples. Shoving her hand down Draco's pants, Ginny found him hot and hard, and she stroked her fingers along his length as he moaned in the back of his throat.

Breaking their kiss, Ginny smiled up at Draco, before turning to run her tongue along Blaise's full lips, moaning as he found her clit through her panties, manipulating her with knowledgeable fingers. Blaise groaned at the wetness he felt there.

Exchanging a glance with Draco over Ginny's head, Blaise stepped pulled away briefly, watching the blond push on the small of her back. Ginny sank down to her knees with a knowing grin up at Blaise who groaned as she rubbed a hand down the front of his pants, feeling the hardness there.

Draco pushed his hand quickly under her to rest on her stomach, the conception charm warming her pleasurably, before he shoved his cock hard into her from behind. Ginny screamed, and wriggled her hips into him, feeling how deep he was.

Blaise quickly pulled down his jeans, and fell to his knees in front of her, watching as her small pink mouth quickly enveloped him in warmth with a moan.

--

Padma watched intently as Ginny walked into the Great Hall, followed closely by Zabini and Malfoy. The three were glowing with inner light that was almost painful to look at. Well, that was interesting.

For the last few days, Ginny and the two had been almost inseparable, and though Padma was happy for her friend, she was still a little worried. She had seen how quickly the two Slytherins had thrown away other girls before, and though they seemed close now… well, she was worried.

She raised her eyebrows seeing Ginny sit down between Draco and Pansy at the Slytherin table. Now that was a first. She quickly took a look over at Gryffindor, but the only person who seemed remotely perturbed was Seamus, who had not looked happy since before Ginny had started hanging around the two males.

It also made her wonder how Ginny's family would take this. She winced, thinking of Ron Weasley. And she knew exactly how the Weasley family was when it came to the 'baby', and she couldn't see them taking this relationship between the three all that well. It was enough to give her a headache.

Hearing Ginny's laughter again, Padma watched as she swatted Blaise across Draco, and smiled lightly. She decided to put aside her own worries, and concentrate on being there for Ginny. She had a bad feeling that Ginny would need as many people in her corner as possible. And she fully intended to be there.

She shot a look at Parvati, who watched her for a moment, and nodded. The two had always been incredibly close, rarely needing words. Parvati had just agreed to stay firmly in Ginny's corner no matter what.

A/N: Yes, Padma will be a big part of the story. And the Trio will make an appearance, just not at Hogswart. The Twins are a big part of the next chapter, and they will also play a major part of the story too. Thank you to all that reviewed!! It really makes me stay focused on writing if I know people are enjoying, so thanks again.


	7. Desecrate You

Chapter 7:

Ginny sprawled on her back amid the colourful leaves that littered the ground beside the lake, feeling the cool breeze across her cheeks. She grinned to herself. Having gotten out of Quidditch practice earlier than she thought, Ginny was waiting for Padma.

It was October, and the weather was definitely turning. Ginny loved the fall… the colours, the cooler air, Quidditch… there was very few things she disliked about this time of year.

There was also the matter of Blaise and Draco. She felt so close to him… and yet they were still a mystery to her. That sometimes bugged her, as she was naturally nosy, but she kept Draco's words in mind, and had the hopeful thought that perhaps her ability to not pry meant that she was growing up a little.

Blaise… he was so outgoing, friends with almost everyone he met, fun, charismatic, and yet Ginny was sure she had only seen him sleep maybe a few hours in the last three weeks.

Each time, he had woken up, arms over his head, shaking, crying, and mumbling under his breath. Draco was the only one who seemed to be able to calm him down, and Blaise had freaked out the one time Ginny had touched him when he was like that. Draco had told her not to take it personally, but it still rested heavily on her thoughts.

Draco was almost the complete opposite. Sarcastic and arrogant, he demanded respect, and he seemed very cold to people that didn't know him well. He had his own issues, and Ginny was sure they had to do with his father from some of the things Blaise had said.

They were so close to each other, that she was almost jealous of their bond. Grinning at the thought, she played with her hair, idly picking a leaf out of her hair, and watched a cloud that looked suspiciously like a bunny race across the sky.

"Hey Ginny." Padma's soft voice called to her, and Ginny flipped over to look at her.

"Padma… how was your day?"

Throwing herself down beside Ginny, Padma rested her head on the small of Ginny's back and stared at the cloud that looked like a bunny, "Your boyfriend, Zabini, is driving me crazy."

"What did he do?" Ginny put her hand over her mouth to try to hold in the laughter. It seemed like Blaise got a lot of amusement from getting under Padma's skin in any was possible.

Brushing her long dark hair out of her eyes, Padma sighed in irritation, "He decided, it would be fun to make a first year Hufflepuff Head Boy for the day. Complete with the power to deduct points and give detention."

"Can he do that?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Apparently, he can." Padma snorted, "He then proceeded to point the little boy in Draco's direction, and point out the fact that Draco was being disrespectful to other teachers."

"Oh gods…"

"That was pretty much my reaction, yes. I managed to get there before he tried to 'discipline' Draco, but it was close. Almost had to scrape Hufflepuff off the hallway." Padma rubbed her temples, feeling the onslaught of a certain type of headache she affectionately referred to as 'Zabini' or, 'that horrible git in Slytherin who refused to let her have a happy existence'

"What was his excuse?" Padma's eyes narrowed at Ginny's strangely muffled voice, and she turned her head sharply to the side to see her hand clasped tightly over her mouth, shoulders shaking.

Narrowing her eyes, Padma responded, "He said, and I quote, 'I feel that an important aspect of the role of Head Boy is to provide leadership training to the younger years. And I thought it would be funny.'"

That did it, Ginny could no longer hold in her laughter. Tears running down her face, she glanced back at Padma who was pointedly staring at the sky again, her laughter doubled.

Waiting for Ginny to calm down, Padma wondered viciously how long it would take her to kill the Head Boy. She was sure there was something in the Hogwarts charter that allowed her to do so.

Ginny wiped the moisture off her face, and relaxed in comfortable silence with the dark-haired girl.

"Have you heard from Ron yet?" Padma asked quietly, some time later. She knew that Ginny was worried about her older brother.

Shoulders slumping, Ginny played with the chipping nailpolish on her thumb, "Nope. I haven't heard from any of them since the beginning of September."

"Oh." Well, so much for that, "I'm sure they're fine. I mean, it seems like you –know-who's kind of gone into retirement at this point. I haven't heard of any Deatheater action since… well… May."

"Here's hoping." Ginny thought back on that letter from Harry, and felt on a twinge of worry for a long-time friend. When he had left… it was like something had broken within her. And the way he had left… well, he could have done it in a much better way.

Looking back, she was honestly disappointed in Harry's actions. He had known, and hadn't told her and well… she was disappointed.

"Ginny, have you seen those scars on Blaise's wrists?" Padma asked suddenly, remembering that she had spotted them during one of his lengthy explanations.

Ginny looked over at Padma with raised eyebrows, "Yes, but I know that he generally uses a glamour charm. How did you see them?"

Padma grinned, "Glamour charms don't usually work with me."

"Huh. See, now, that's something I didn't know." Ginny pondered that for a moment, before shrugging.

"What are they from?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Draco and Blaise are very touchy about talking about them. I feel a little strange talking about it."

"Do you think they're… you know… self-inflicted?" Padma asked, concern edging her voice from what she had seen.

"Nope." Ginny responded immediately, "They're not… well, I've seen cutting before, but these look like rope burns that the twins have from various pranks. Plus, Blaise is not like that."

"Ah."

"I just don't know why magic wouldn't have taken the scars though."

"Well, a few magical ropes won't allow you too… those are pretty Dark though, and I know that any rope can be cursed in the same way. It's actually not that unheard of." Padma shuddered, thinking about it.

"So…." Ginny tried to desperately think of how to turn the subject. She felt like she was betraying Blaise and Draco's confidence just by talking about this, "What are you doing for the Halloween weekend?"

"Not quite sure yet. It's still a few weeks off."

"I know, but the twins owled me yesterday, asking me to meet them in Hogsmeade. It rather made me nervous."

"As well it should. What are they doing in Hogsmeade? I thought their shop was in Diagon."

"Your guess is as good as mine. I try not to think too hard about what they're up too." Padma chuckled at Ginny's resigned tone, and patted her shoulder in compassion. "There there."

It was there that Draco and Pansy wandered upon the two girls, talking and laughing in the leaves a few hours later.

"Hi." Ginny smiled up at Draco tenderly, before grinning over at Pansy, "Hey Pansy."

"Gin." He bent over to kiss the top of her head, before nodding at Padma. Her response was to scowl at him.

Pansy sat down beside Ginny's head, as Padma ranted about Blaise's actions again to a completely unsympathetic Draco, who just shook his head, "Padma, he isn't going to change. This was actually rather tame for him. Ignore him. That'll piss him off more than anything."

Looking crafty, Padma pondered that course of action. Ginny giggled as she could almost feel Padma thinking.

Draco lounged next to Pansy, and pushed Ginny's hair off her brow behind her ear as she grinned impishly up at him.

Pansy watched with interest as Ginny and Draco interacted silently. She had never really seen Draco caring for someone outside of her and Blaise like that before. It was mildly disconcerting… and wonderful, all at once. She hadn't really thought he was capable of it.

As Padma and Pansy got into a heated discussion about their N.E.W.T. level Herbology, Ginny took hold of Draco's pale hand, stroking the skin over his knuckles, watching the veins just below the skin.

"Where's Blaise?" She asked quietly. Draco thought for a moment, concentrating, before answering, "Library, working on his Potions assignment."

Ginny nodded. Draco and Blaise had some kind of connection, they were linked, that she couldn't quite figure out. It was rather helpful though, especially in this kind of situation.

--

The second Hogsmeade visit just happened to be on the Halloween weekend, and Ginny shivered as the cool air played against her skin, despite the warmth of the sun overhead. She tucked her hands into her pockets, and looked in the window of Zonkos, which had recently re-opened.

Despite the fact that they had owled her to meet them here, they were late… again. Frowning, she turned to look down the street, straining to catch sight of the two familiar redheads.

Ginny frowned. She had left two very sexy and warm males to come and stand here in the cold, and honestly, she really didn't think the twins would make it worth her while.

Almost moaning aloud, she remembered how Blaise and Draco had tried to get her to stay in bed with them, instead of rushing off so early. And now, the twins were late. She really had no luck.

"Gin!" A voice called out, and she turned to see George weaving his way through a crowd of third years that were huddled near the corner, Fred on his heels.

Holding up her hand in greeting, Ginny scowled and waited for them to make their way over.

"Ginny my dear!" Fred caught her up in a big hug, which Ginny reluctantly returned, glad to see them for all her raging hormones, and remembering how Draco had looked fully naked, a thin sheet just hanging onto one hip, and Blaise stretching, his abs looking delicious.

George ruffled her hair, and they grinned wickedly at her, "Glad to see us?"

"Sure." She smiled despite herself, "Now, why did I have to be down here for nine? I do have some semblance of a life, you know."

"Yeah, we know." Fred looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, "A little birdy told us that you've been spending an awful lot of time in the Slytherin common room. Any comments?"

Ginny smiled coyly, and twirled a lock of her hair around a finger innocently, "Do I look like the sort to kiss and tell? And the common room? That's rather kinky."

Fred and George looked at each other for a moment, before snickering loudly. Ginny grinned at them, and then asked more seriously, "Again, why did I have to meet you two? What are you doing in Hogsmeade? Who's running the shop?"

"Well, we finally hired a competent manager, Liam, who is looking after the shop by himself. It's actually really nice, we're not really cut out to spend all of our time in the shop. It's much more fun to develop new products." George explained with a look of glee.

"And we're here, because we've just bought Zonko's to make into the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes." Fred finished, bowing slightly as she clapped in glee.

"Brilliant!" Ginny jumped up and down, and gave them both big hugs. "You're taking over the world one joke shop at a time!"

"Yes well, we talked to Ron about it last year-"

"But it didn't look like it would happen-"

"And yet, here we are." They stood outside of the shop, talking about the twin's ideas for renovating, until George noticed that Ginny's nose was matching her hair that was peeking out from under her violently pink hat. With that, they headed over to The Three Broomsticks.

Stomping in, Ginny sighed as the warmth from the fire hit her. It was a lot colder than she thought it would be at this time of year.

"Have you owled Mom recently?" Fred asked casually as they found a table near the back. Ginny noticed with an inward sigh the difference between how the three Weasleys were treated versus the two Slytherins she had come with the last time.

George finally held up a fistful of galleons, and hollered at the bartender before they got service.

"No, I haven't talked to her since the morning I left for school." Ginny replied to Fred's earlier question.

"Hmm…" George looked at her with a gleam in his eye.

"What? You make me nervous when you look at me like that."

"How much is the information about you and the Slytherins worth?" Fred leaned forward, a wicked smile curving his lips. Ginny glared at him, "What do you know?"

"Enough."

"Not good enough."

"We know that you've been spending most nights in Blaise Zabini's private room with him and Draco Malfoy… that you are rarely without one or the other, or both… Do we really need to know more?"

Ginny's eyes opened wide, "How do you guys know that? You don't even go to Hogwarts!"

"We have our sources."

Ginny narrowed her eyes, and then sighed in resignation, "Fine. Terms?"

--

Blaise looked up as Ginny stomped into his room. They had taught her the passwords and wards weeks ago, but it was still mildly strange to look up and see her. In a good way, of course.

"Hi Kitten." He grinned and motioned her over. Ginny smiled back, and allowed him to pull her down on his lap, cuddling close. "Mmm… I missed you."

Ginny looked up at him, "I was just here this morning. Why didn't you come down to Hogsmeade?"

"Potions. Slughorn is trying to kill me this year." Blaise sighed, and tightened his hold on her, kissing her temple gently, "How were your brother?"

Frowning, Ginny thought back on what they had discussed, "Devious."

"Excuse me?" He blinked, not quite sure he had heard right.

"Nefarious, cunning, scheming, conniving. Shall I go on?"

Blaise laughed, delightedly, "No, I think I have the concept. What did they do?"

"I'm not allowed to tell." Ginny frowned again at the terms of their agreement.

"Not even me?"

"Not even you."

"Not even Draco?"

"Not even Draco."

"I have two galleons that you'll spill to Draco by the end of the week." Blaise knew first-hand how difficult it was to keep a secret from him.

"I'll take your bet. And your money."

Blaise laughed, and leaned his forehead against her thick hair, breathing in the faint scent of vanilla, cinnamon, and Ginny.

"Did you finish the potions stuff?"

"Nope. Hopefully tomorrow, but it's Halloween tonight."

"So?"

"Well, the feast is tonight."

"It's not that big a deal."

"Plus, I'm going trick 'or' treating."

It was Ginny's turn to blink, and ask, "Excuse me?"

"Trick 'or' treating." He patiently repeated.

"Yes, I heard you, I just don't understand you."

"It's a muggle thing. You dress up, and go door to door for candy."

"Why don't you just ask the house elves to bring you candy? You do it for everything else." Ginny looked up at him, utter confusion across her face.

"It's more fun this way."

"Sounds like a lot more work."

"Where's your inner child?"

Ginny stretched against him languidly, making sure to move against his crotch, "You really want to ask me that?"

Blaise groaned and grabbed her hips, "Ok, bad question."

Satisfied, Ginny leaned into him again, mentally shaking her head over the craziness that Blaise seemed to thrive in.

Later that evening, Draco sat in the Slytherin common room, watching expressionlessly as Blaise knocked on the first year's doors with an outstretched pillow case, waiting for candies. He had dressed himself in all black with muggle devil horns, and was running around yelling trick 'or' treat.

Shaking his head, Draco looked down at Ginny who was curled up next to him on the wide couch, her Transfigurations text clutched in her hands, reading intently. She didn't seem to even notice what Blaise was doing.

Knowing from past experience how long it would last, Draco sank down against her and started reading over her shoulder just to bug her. Sure enough… "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." He leaned forward to turn the page, and then removed his hand before she could hit it.

Suddenly, Blaise popped out of the hallway, and threw himself on the couch, knocking Ginny over. "Hey!"

"Look how much candy I got!"

Draco stared at him for a long minute, "I don't care." He enunciated carefully.

"Well, now I'm not sharing any with you." Blaise eagerly checked out his stash again, seemingly forgetting that he had been the one to give the candy to the first years in the first place to give back to him. "What do you think, Room of Requirement party?"

Ginny dropped her book to jump up, "Awesome! I have to go let Lavender and the Patils know… when?"

"About an hour." Blaise checked the clock, "And make everyone wear costumes!"

"I am not wearing a costume." Draco stated quietly.

Blaise glared at him with navy eyes, before turning back to Ginny, "Ok, well, make sure the girls are wearing something really skimpy then."

The Room of Requirement had become packed with sixth and seventh years from the houses, and Ginny was dancing wildly with Lavender when she glanced over to see Parvati and Seamus engaged in some mildly inappropriate activities. Laughing, she turned Lavender to see.

"Why, that naughty girl!" Lavender laughed, slinging her arms around Ginny to dance even closer. Ginny giggled, and looked around to spot Blaise dancing with an uncomfortable-looking Padma, and Draco being oh-so-cool leaning against the wall with a smirk, and a bottle of firewhiskey.

Skipping over to Draco, Ginny grabbed the bottle before he could stop her, and took a large gulp. Laughing, he grabbed her around the waist to pull her close, taking back his bottle.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Ginny asked, face flushed.

Tracing his fingers through her hair, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "It's much more fun to watch you."

"What a line!" Ginny shoved him away, laughing. Draco shrugged, his silver eyes dancing, as he finished off the bottle.

Watching as he wavered a little where he stood, Ginny pulled him over to a large couch, and they collapsed together to watch Blaise trying to grind up against Padma, with little success. Thankfully, though, she was laughing at his attempts.

Draco ran his hand down Ginny's back which was exposed by the lack of fabric in her shirt. "You're beautiful, love."

Knowing how affectionate Draco got when drunk, Ginny leaned against him with pleasure.

"You know, I haven't seen Blaise this happy in a long time." Draco kissed the side of her mouth lightly, watching his friend and lover laugh, and follow Padma as she tried to leave the dance floor.

"Really? He seems like he should always be happy." She answered quietly.

"Oh gods… you've never met his mother." Draco shuddered with true distaste, and moved his lips to her neck, flicking his tongue over the pulse there.

"Draco…"

"Red…"

"Did Blaise make those scars himself?" Draco tensed at the question, and then asked quietly, "Is that what you think?"

"No. But the alternative… Well…" She played with his fingers absent-mindedly.

"No." He all but whispered, "No, he didn't do that to himself."

"Will it happen again?" She looked up at him, her blue eyes worried.

Hugging her close, Draco drew a ragged breath, "Not if I can help it."

Ginny nodded, watching Blaise laugh at something Dean said, his head back, joy on his face. Not if she could help it either. She squeezed Draco's hand, and smiled when she felt him squeeze back.

Waking up the next morning in Blaise's bed, Ginny moaned as all she had had to drink came back to haunt her.

Blaise was nowhere to be seen, but Draco was sleeping deeply at her side, and she knew he wouldn't wake up for hours if left alone. He seemed to sleep more than anyone she had ever met. And she had lived with six brothers, so that was impressive.

Hearing the water running, she looked over at the open door to see Blaise rubbing the cold water over his face, rooting through the drawer for his hang-over potion.

Looking in the mirror, Blaise traced the circles under his eyes with his fingertips with a sigh. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept, and his various potions were the only things keeping him going at this point. Grabbing his wand from beside the sink, he cast his glamour charms to hide the circles, as well as his scars with a grimace.

It was a nervous habit for him to trace the scars, but he hated seeing them. They always reminded him of his own helplessness.

Finishing his morning rituals, he looked into his bedroom to see Ginny's blue eyes watching him, still hazy with sleep. Smiling at her, he grabbed the hang-over potion, and walked to her side.

"Thank you." She murmured as she took a deep chug. Instantly, her head felt better. Much better. Ginny reached up to hold Blaise's neck, giving him a kiss. He smiled against her lips.

"Did you sleep at all?" She asked quietly, not letting go. He shook his head, before sucking her bottom lip between his teeth. Even though she knew it was one of his ways to distract, she couldn't help herself as he pushed her back on the bed.

A/N: I had no idea that people would assume that Blaise was cutting. That really took me by surprise, so I decided to write it into this chapter. See? I do read and appreciate reviews! I love them! Please enjoy, and tell me what you think.

Oooh, I also got asked by JulieMalfoyZabini (awesome reviewer) if I had even a thought of a sequel in mind… and yes, I've got one planned. But this story isn't even halfway done, so don't worry just yet.


	8. Help Me

WARNING: Some Sexual violence, rape, incest, so you're warned, don't flame. It's not gratuitous, and I tried to keep it from being too explicit, but it has a place in this story.

Chapter 8:

Pulling his scarf tighter around his neck, Blaise tried desperately to look interested in the Quidditch game that was going on above his head. He shivered violently under his thick cloak, and groaned as the Slytherins around him cheered on Draco who made a sudden dive, only to pull up short as Ginny blocked him. The noise made his head hurt.

Ginny had told him to stay in bed, but he had wanted to see the first Slytherin versus Gryffindor game of the year. It was also Ginny's third game as seeker this season, and he loved watching her in those tight leather pants. Draco wasn't too hard on the eyes either, he mused to himself.

He could see his two lovers screaming at each other over the pitch, and he chuckled, before it turned into a cough. Ginny and Draco were both so passionate, and he loved watching them argue, always prepared to step in if they seemed like they were about to hex each other.

Feeling as though he was hacking up a lung by coughing, Blaise rested his forehead against Pansy's shoulder. He opened his mind briefly to Draco, feeling weightless as he moved through the sky. Blaise grinned again as Draco pushed him out with a stern, 'I need to focus, and you are not helping.'

Taking her eyes off of the two seekers who were using some wildly inappropriate language that could be heard even in the stands, Pansy looked at Blaise with concern, "Are you sure you're feeling up to being outside for the game?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He smiled weakly at her, ignoring the faint dizziness. Blaise had been sick for a few days, but he had tried to convince himself that he was feeling better. "Bloody November, why does it have to be this damn cold?"

Watching Dean bat a bludger toward Slytherins end, Blaise wrapped both arms around Pansy's slender form, trying to soak up some of her warmth. Pansy tensed as she felt Blaise shaking.

Spotting the golden snitch near Crabbe's ear, Ginny narrowed her eyes, and leaned in close to her broom, feeling the cool wind rush through her hair.

Suddenly, a green blur shot in front of her, forcing her to pull up. "Fuck!"

"Nice to see you too, Red." Draco grinned at her obscenity.

"You bloody cheat!" She kicked his leg, and started looking around for the elusive snitch again. Hearing Draco chuckle, she ignored him.

Ginny could hear Dean screaming at the new chasers, and grinned. He was an… interesting captain. He definitely had more confidence in himself than Harry, and he was so hands-on that it was almost irritating. Ginny and Dean had gotten into a few arguments when he had critiqued her seeking style, but because he amused her, she didn't hold it against him. Much.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Draco's face adopt a look of intense concentration, and she whipped around just in time to see the snitch appear over by the Gryffindor rings.

Both leaning in close to their brooms, Draco and Ginny flew head to head, both staring at the snitch. Ginny glanced at him quickly, before leaning down even lower. He had the better broom, but she was smaller and lighter. They were actually pretty evenly matched.

Draco watched the redhead beside him as he fell back slightly because of her acceleration. The angle gave him an excellent view of her leather-clad hips and thighs flexing around the broomstick.

Pausing, he stared, feeling heat rip through him at the thought of what it felt like to have those long legs wrapped around his waist… watching her writhe… watching-

"And Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor has the snitch!" The commentator, a third year Ravenclaw whose name he couldn't remember announced. "Gryffindor wins!"

Draco cursed vividly as Ginny flew past him with a triumphant smirk, before she settled on the ground, and was surrounded by her ecstatic housemates. He watched intently as Dean gathered her up in a big hug, making sure he kept his hands in the right places.

Ginny leaned over to hug Lavender and Parvati tightly, laughing at their fully Gryffindor coloured faces in delight. She felt the rush of the win still flushing through her, and she posed mockingly for Colin who held up his camera.

Blaise followed Pansy onto the pitch to see Draco, and congratulate Ginny. Grinning as he saw Draco scowl, he hugged him, "She got lucky."

"Lucky my arse." Draco muttered to him, "I got distracted seeing her in that bloody uniform."

"Who wouldn't?" Blaise coughed, and turned to see Ginny running toward them. He caught her up in a big hug, "Good one Kitten! Even though you beat us, I'll forgive you this time."

Ginny laughed, and moved to give Draco a big hug, planting a kiss on his pouted lips, "Don't pout baby… I'll make it up to you later."

He stared at her with silvery eyes growing dark with lust until they were interrupted by Blaise coughing again. Ginny turned to glare at him, "I told you to stay in bed!"

"It's no fun without you Kitten." He smiled at her, huddling in his cloak for warmth again, wanting nothing more than to burrow into her warmth in his bed again.

Grabbing Draco with one hand, and Blaise with the other, Ginny stalked determinedly toward the school, a scowl across her reddened face.

Exchanging an amused glance, they allowed themselves to be pulled along.

Stepping into Blaise's room, Ginny felt the warmth flowing into her, and she sighed at the feeling.

"You! Get into bed." She pointed at Blaise, who shivered, and pulled his cloak off before complying. He did feel like shit.

He watched as Ginny and Draco started pulling off their Quidditch uniforms, and it was merely an indication of how horrible he felt that he just closed his eyes, and concentrated on breathing deeply, trying to get rid of the headache he could feel coming.

Pulling on one of Blaise's t-shirts, Ginny hopped into bed with him, cuddling in close as she felt him shivering. Draco watched, still just wearing his tight leather pants, looking concerned.

"Gin, he's been sick for awhile." Draco said quietly, seeing Blaise burying his head into Ginny's neck, "I think he may need to go to the hospital wing."

Stroking her hand down Blaise's smooth back, Ginny nodded at Draco, and jumped back out of bed to pull on a pair of jeans, then the robe that she kept in his room over the t-shirt.

Draco edged around the bed, pulling an almost unconscious Blaise to his feet, draping his robe over him before grabbing up his own shirt and robes. "Let's go."

They made their way slowly to Madame Pomfrey's door, Blaise protesting mildly, where she took one look at him, and rushed him to a bed to begin fussing over him.

Ginny watched Blaise's still form, and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. It was strange to see him asleep. Draco rubbed her shoulder absent-mindedly, feeling her worry even though he was staring at Blaise.

Madame Pomfrey had told them that Blaise had contracted a bad viral infection, as well as a severe case of the flu, and that he was running a bad temperature. She had been somewhat confused, saying that it shouldn't be as bad as it was, that it was almost like his body was shutting down on him. It was then that she had told them that there wasn't an extreme amount magic could do for him, as his body needed to recuperate naturally, and anything else might be too great a shock to his system.

Ginny remembered listening to Pomfrey, and a silent tear ran down her cheek, before she rubbed the back of her hand against it. Madame Pomfrey had wanted to contact Blaise's mother, but Draco had flatly refused, and then had mentioned that Blaise was seventeen, and therefore an adult.

Draco had been so insistent on no contact with Mrs. Zabini, that Madame Pomfrey had been taken aback, and had left in a twitter to talk to the Headmistress. Ginny glanced at him, wondering what exactly had happened.

Watching Blaise now, Ginny saw just how pale he was… His eyes were underlined with black circles, and despite his musculature, he looked… almost shrunken. She wondered just how long he had been so unhealthy, and hiding it. She knew that he cast glamour charms each morning, but she had attributed it more to vanity than hiding.

Padma had actually mentioned the sheer amount of glamours he had on once or twice, looking at Ginny searchingly, but she had pushed her concerns aside. Blaise would have told her himself… But apparently not.

Shaking her head at her thoughts, Ginny sighed, knowing that it was not the right time to get angry at what had obviously been kept from her. She glanced at Draco, wondering just how much he knew.

Draco could feel Ginny watching him, but he kept his eyes on Blaise's pale face. He had known… and he hadn't done anything. It was killing him. He knew just how often Blaise slept… he knew. He knew about Blaise's demons.

He opened his mind, probing, but it hurt to not feel anything, it was like a physical pain. Stopping, he looked at Ginny for a moment, seeing just how upset she was.

Sighing, Draco dropped his eyes to the floor, running his hands through his hair in a restless gesture. Hearing Ginny sniffle, his eyes shot up to see her wiping tears from her cheeks as she stared at Blaise.

With a curse under his breath, he reached over to pull her small body into his lap, holding her tightly under his chin. "He'll be ok, Red. He's tough."

Ginny nodded, still staring at Blaise's face, watching his chest moving up and down rhythmically. At least he was sleeping. That was one thing to be grateful for.

"Can you please tell me?" Ginny looked up at Draco with worry clouding her eyes. Draco sighed, and rested his head against her neck, tired, and irritated with the world.

"Yes." He mumbled against her pale skin, before sitting up, "You need to know. Just… Not here. I can't talk about this here. Wait, please."

Ginny nodded mutely, and rested her head against his chest. "I want him to be better."

Over the course of the day, most of the Slytherins made their way into the hospital wing to visit Blaise, talking in hushed voices with Draco who Ginny had noticed long before seemed to be an unofficial leader for them.

She watched him, intently. It was hard even for her to tell exactly what he was thinking. He never smiled, or frowned, he was absolutely expressionless, his silver eyes stormy. The only time there was even a crack was whenever he looked to Blaise, or when she took hold of his hand. He had smiled a sad little smile that she had never seen before from him at her.

The Patils visited along with Ginny's Gryffindor friends, and Padma stayed long after everyone else had left, holding Ginny's hand, not saying anything, but lending her silent support to her and Draco.

Exchanging a glance with Padma, Draco was amazed to see the level of compassion in her dark eyes, and the sentiment that she cared about what happened to Blaise, and even her concern for himself.

Reaching out with a hesitant hand, unused to really touching anyone other than Ginny and Blaise, he grabbed hold of the wrist of the hand that was providing Ginny with such comfort. Squeezing gently, he nodded at her once, before letting go.

A few hours after Padma had quietly taken her leave, and Ginny and Draco were alone again, Draco felt Ginny fall asleep in his arms, still facing Blaise who she had been staring at.

Madame Pomfrey checked on Blaise many times, clucking her teeth at Draco who she had not yet forgiven for not allowing her to contact his mother. Headmistress McGonagall had backed him up on the order, and Poppy just couldn't believe that the boy's poor mother shouldn't be told about what rough shape her son was in.

She sighed as she heard Blaise coughing in his sleep, deep, chest shaking coughs that spoke of the sheer depth of his infection. His fever hadn't gone down either. Poppy looked over to Draco who was following her actions with disconcerting intensity, and at the small redhead asleep in his lap, her face unnaturally pale.

"You know that it's curfew in about fifteen minutes." She spoke quietly, trying not to wake up Blaise or Ginny, "You both need to be back in your dorms."

Draco nodded, although he didn't want to leave Blaise, he knew that Ginny needed him with her, "Can you please let me know if there's any change overnight? I want to be here…"

"Of course." Poppy's eyes softened as she caught the worry in his otherwise cultured voice, concern lining the dulcet tones.

Carefully, Draco stood up, cradling Ginny against him, and turned to leave with a last glance at Blaise's still form. This was the first time in… well, years, that Draco had seen him sleep for so long without any nightmares. It was good… and yet worrisome all at once.

Making his way slowly to the dungeons, trying not to jostle Ginny, he thought about what he was going to say to her about Blaise. He knew that she had a right to know now… that it had been wrong of Blaise to keep it from her, especially now. Ginny had been a major part of their lives since the beginning of September.

He reflected on the fact that Blaise and he had never been with one girl for as long as that. Or… ever been with one girl together. It was a little perplexing to him. Draco was used to feeling very strongly about Blaise… they had been together for years, but to be that close to anyone else, well… He had no experience with that. Draco had never worried about messing up a relationship with anyone other than Blaise before.

Carrying Ginny through the entrance to the Slytherin dungeons, he realized just how fragile the little firecracker was. She was one of the few people that actually stood up to him on a consistent basis, and he sometimes forgot just how vulnerable she could be.

Settling her on Blaise's bed, he pulled off her clothing until she was left in Blaise's shirt which she had never taken off, and her panties, before he tucked her under the thick covers.

Quickly, he divested himself of his own clothing, and climbed in, seeing her arms searching for him in her sleep. Well, he assumed she was reaching for him, it could have been Blaise just as easily. Draco wrapped himself around Ginny, and stroked her hair as he fell into a light slumber.

Ginny woke with a start halfway through the night, wondering where Blaise was. As it came back to her, she turned to Draco, kissing his neck frantically. She needed him.

Feeling him harden against her hip, she reached down to pull his boxers from his hips frantically, before she huddled under the covers to pull his length into her mouth. Draco woke up, feeling Ginny's warm mouth on him with a moan.

Hearing Draco, Ginny pushed him onto his back, and slid back up to kiss him passionately, taking control for the first time with him, forcing her tongue into his mouth, pinning his hands beside his shoulders.

Feeling the after affects of sleep, Draco lay there dazed as Ginny ravished him, pushing her small body against his, before she leaned away to pull off her remaining clothing. Draco hissed as she took his flat nipple into her mouth, tugging on it with her teeth as her hands wandered down to fondle his hard cock.

Gasping for breath, Draco grabbed the sheets at his sides, letting Ginny have complete control. Her mouth moved up to his pale neck, licking and biting his skin there with abandon, finding the spots he loved with unwavering confidence.

Draco threw his head back, and buried his hand in her hair tightly, almost painfully, as she stroked her hands along his body, feeling every muscle jumping to meet her touch, making him crazy.

Ginny rested her right hand against her stomach, doing the contraceptive spell that Draco had taught her, feeling the familiar warmth.

Straddling Draco quickly, Ginny wrapped her fingers around his length, and guided him into her with surety, sitting down hard. Draco gripped her hips tightly as he heard her cry out in pleasure and pain. She hadn't been fully ready for him, but that hadn't stopped her.

She sat there for a moment, panting, her eyes watering slightly, before she tilted her hips forward. Draco's hands spread so that his thumbs could find her centre, rubbing her urgently as she moaned at the feeling of her wetness fully coating him, making them both slick.

Leaning forward, Ginny slowly kissed Draco, their tongues stroking languidly, as she rocked her hips on his pelvis. Changing from frantic, almost desperate sex, to making love within a minute, she slowly started to move on him, feeling him slide into her, feeling his heart beating against her chest.

Draco hugged her to him gently, exploring her lips fully. Sighing as her engorged clit rubbed against his pelvic bone, Ginny changed the angle slightly so that he pressed against that spot deep inside of her, still keeping up the slow pace, enjoying the feeling of him filling her.

Feeling his climax rising, Draco placed his hand between their bodies again, and rubbed her clit roughly, ensuring that she came with him. As he felt her walls clench him, he gasped out loud, listening to Ginny's soft cry before she collapsed across his chest.

Draco smoothed her hair back from her face, and held her tightly, his cock still deep within her. Resting there, Ginny felt the tears well up in her eyes again, and quickly buried her face against his neck so he wouldn't see.

"I miss him too." Draco spoke quietly, feeling her nod against him. He stroked her hair, and closed his eyes. Ginny hugged him tightly, feeling an almost unbearable level of emotion for the lithe blond, followed by a rush of worry for the black-haired Slytherin in the hospital wing.

She lay there, loving the feeling of him beneath her. She kissed a line across his chest. They lay there for a long time, just holding each other.

Feeling Draco drift back to sleep, Ginny slipped off him quietly, and dragged Blaise's t-shirt back over her head as she wandered to one of the deep chairs beside the roaring fire at the side of the room.

She stared at the flames, worrying, her lip almost bleeding from the pressure that her teeth were putting on it. Unable to sit still, she pulled on her jeans, and grabbed her wand. Taking a deep breath, she placed the tip of it against her tattoo under the edge of her pants, thinking the words clearly in her mind, closing her eyes as she felt her mid-section tug in a familiar action.

Falling out of a whirlwind, she felt familiar strong arms encircle her wordlessly.

--

Padma hugged Pansy tightly, Vince and Greg watching the Ravenclaw wearily as they sat in the Slytherin common room.

They had become quite close through hanging around Ginny, Draco and Blaise, and Pansy was falling apart worrying about Blaise. She didn't want to bother Draco who was looking after Ginny, but it had surprised her when Padma had stepped up to her as she was leaving the hospital wing earlier.

Since then, Padma had sat with them in the common room, her presence calming. Theo had stormed out, muttering something about how only Slytherin's should be in the dungeons, but Vince and Greg had stayed, making sure Pansy was alright.

"He'll be fine, Pansy." Padma smiled lightly, "He has years ahead to bother me."

Pansy laughed despite herself, "He's barely got in any of his better pranks, it's true."

Padma rolled her eyes exaggeratedly at this, lounging back against the couch with a sigh. "You didn't hear about him trying to make a first year Head Boy? Or what about when he announced to the whole school that I needed to stop trying to sleep with him, that he just wasn't interested?"

Pansy laughed more, and even Vince cracked a grin.

"Or what about how he asked in potions last week whether the recipe on the board could be used as lubricant as we had a Head meeting later that day?" Padma grinned, remembering the look on Professor Slughorn's face. Tears were running down Pansy's cheeks by this point. She actually hadn't heard that particular one.

"Or, how he charmed one of the suits of armour to jump out at me on patrol one night?"

Padma frowned, remembering that. She still wasn't sure if her stomach had found it's way out of her throat from that one.

"You should hear what he has in mind for you at Christmas," Greg remarked suddenly, his deep voice making Padma jump slightly, "He's already started planning."

"I don't even want to know." She held up a hand, watching in astonishment as the suspicious Slytherin smiled at her.

Just then, Draco stumbled out of Blaise's door, "Where the hell is Ginny?"

Padma's eyes widened as she took in the fact that the only thing he was wearing were low-slung pajama bottoms, showing off his pale, lightly muscled chest. She swallowed.

Pansy was quicker to recover, having seen him in various states of undress for most of her life, he did not have a lot of shame, "She hasn't come out since you brought her back from the hospital wing. How did you lose her?"

Running his hand roughly through his hair, Draco tried to concentrate. How the hell could she have left the room without Pansy seeing her? The fireplace in Blaise's room was not connected to the Floo Network, and Ginny didn't have an apparition licence. Plus, from what Granger had babbled a number of times, it was impossible within Hogwarts anyways. What the hell was-

"Patil?" His silver eyes spotted her beside Pansy, slightly shocked at the sight of her in Slytherin, "What the hell are you doing here? No, actually, I don't care. Where's Ginny?"

Frowning for a moment, Padma contemplated him. Ginny hadn't told him, and she'd left before he'd realized… She knew exactly where she was, but it didn't seem like Ginny had wanted him to know.

Watching Padma, Draco's eyes took on a predatory gleam. She knew. "Padma…" He said softly, almost dangerously, despite the pleasant tone, "Tell me. Now."

She shivered at the implied threat in his voice, and looked away from his strange eyes that were making her nervous.

"I can't." Padma replied softly. She couldn't break Ginny's confidence.

Draco stalked over to her, and quickly placed his arms on either side of her shoulders, effectively caging her in, "Look, Padma, I know you know. You have to tell me now."

"No." She looked up at him with clear brown eyes, her face a mask, despite how panicked she was at his threatening nearness, and tone.

"Get out." He stood up, and pointed at the door.

"What?" Padma glanced at Pansy, who looked away pointedly, "Fine."

Standing elegantly, Padma drifted out of the Slytherin common room, feeling sorry for Ginny whenever she saw Draco next. He was mildly terrifying when angry. And so damn intense.

--

_Blaise was ten years old again, sitting at the long table eating as quickly as possible to get away from his mother. She made him… uncomfortable. Actually, she scared him more than anything he could have imagined._

_His second stepfather had passed away a week before, and he had seen her eyes at the funeral. She had been pleased. No, not just pleased… Ecstatic. Even though he couldn't even recall the man's name, Blaise shivered remembering. It was always better when he had a stepfather. His mother tended to not be around as much._

_He sipped his pumpkin juice slowly, remembering his years of etiquette classes, and frowned slightly at the bitter taste. That wasn't supposed to be there. He sighed. _

_Blaise was looking forward to Hogwarts, and had a calendar in his room where he checked off the days. He had received his letter a month ago, and now was just waiting for September to arrive. _

_He looked up to see his mother smiling at him, and his stomach turned. He really really wished that his stepfather was still around. It didn't even matter which one. _

"_May I be excused?" He asked her beseechingly, keeping his eyes lowered. _

"_You may." Her carefully modulated tones sent a shiver up his spine, but he got up slowly, and bowed faintly to her before leaving. _

_Making his way to his suite of rooms, Blaise felt a familiar dizziness settling over him. He was able to focus long enough to make his way to the couch in his sitting room, before falling over. Blinking, he tried to focus, before blackness fell._

"_Wake up." Was the first thing he heard, followed by a sharp slap to his cheek. Wincing, Blaise struggled to open his eyes. Another sharp slap had him crying out, and he listened to the cruel laughter as he was able to focus at last. _

_Looking at his mother's smooth pale face, her black hair glinting in the faint light, he tried pulling his arms out of the rope wrapped around his wrists, knowing that it was useless. _

_He knew without looking down that he was completely naked, and he shuddered at the sight of his mother, who was only wearing black high heels. It shouldn't have been, but it was a somewhat familiar sight to him. _

_Blaise breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. Savvy Zabini laughed as she watched the small boy trembling on the bed. The ropes were charmed to inflict pain, and she could see it on his face, just as the blood welled up along the rough edges. _

_Knowing exactly what was going to happen, Blaise tried to shut his mind off. To not think, to not feel. He knew that she liked it when he was in pain. He tried not to give her that satisfaction. _

_Feeling her hands running along his body, he tensed. It was always the worst when she started off like this… He felt himself responding to her touch, and he whimpered at the feeling. _

_Watching her dark head bobbing up and down, he hated her. He hated that he responded to her, he hated that he felt so helpless. Jumping as he felt her slide a finger into him, she stretched him painfully, making him cry out. _

_Suddenly, she backed away, and took a thin strip of leather from the table behind her. Stroking it over his hard cock, she suddenly whipped it across his thigh, leaving a painful red welt behind. _

_Biting his lip against the pain, determined not to cry out, Blaise could taste his own blood. She continued with the leather up onto his stomach, concentrating on drawing blood, watching him jerk against the ropes binding his arms over his head._

_Hearing her laugh, Blaise jerked his hands, trying to loosen the ropes, which was purely instinctual, as he knew what happened when he tried. Sure enough, the ropes slid even tighter, and his hands began to numb. Blaise forced himself to calm down. _

_He was actually a little glad that she didn't seem to be using her wand this time. Sometimes she used the cruciatus curse. That was a bad one… That made his bones ache for days after. _

_Feeling the tears running down his cheeks, he whimpered again, blood oozing from the various welts. Cruel, sharp laughter assailed his ears again, and he opened his eyes to see her straddling him, lowering herself slowly, sitting down so hard that it hurt his hips. _

_Squeezing his eyes closed again, Blaise started begging her to stop, trying to will his body not to respond to her careful caresses. _

--

Blaise woke with a start, feeling hot, and yet shivering at the same time. He looked over to see Draco at his side shaking his shoulder gently.

"Where am I?" His mouth felt as though it was filled with cotton, and he coughed, trying to get rid of the unpleasant sensation.

"Hospital wing." Draco spoke softly, "You've been out for a few days. Nightmare?"

Blaise nodded, looking away from his friend, his eyes full of despair. He felt so weak… it was an odd feeling. At least he wasn't that tired.

"You know that you never need to go back to that." Again, Draco's voice was so soft that Blaise was almost unsure of what he had said.

"I know…" Sighing, he fingered his wrists nervously, "Where's Ginny?"

Draco's face hardened. "I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Blaise looked over to him.

"I mean… she's gone." Draco's voice held a bitterness that made Blaise's eyes sharpen, "She left the night you were brought in here, completely left the school. I haven't seen her since. I've stopped looking."

A/N: Yeah, I know… MEAN ME! But… at least we know Blaise's issues. His reaction to his mother will be explored more in later chapters, as obviously something has to give. Ginny will probably be the focus of the next chapter.

Draco will also have his moment, as I have so much fun writing Blaise (well, happy Blaise), that sometimes Draco gets left out. I want to develop his character so much more. A couple of reviewers noticed that, and the fact that I tend to focus on Ginny's relationship with Blaise above the others. This will change. She simply clicks with him more easily than Draco, but that doesn't mean she likes him better or anything. I'm really trying to make all three of them their own individuals, with very different personalities despite their bond.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love reading reviews! There's a few people who review each chapter, and I can't tell you how much this helps. It keeps me focused, and I also get ideas. Padma, originally, was supposed to be kind of a background character, but now I know exactly what I want to do with her, and it should be fun to write.


	9. Feel You from the Inside

Chapter 9:

Holding on to keep her from falling on the hardwood floor, George looked at Ginny's face with concern. "What's wrong Gin?"

"Blaise is in the hospital. He's really sick." She spoke quietly, "Can we get this over with so I can get back to Draco?"

"Oh crap." Fred rubbed her back, "It'll only take a few minutes."

Lying there on her stomach, the tattoo exposed, Ginny ignored the various spells and charms that the twins soon had coursing through her, instead concentrating on just getting through this so that she could get back.

The twins' apartment was located over the shop, and she had spent a lot of time there over the summer when she had worked for them. It was comfortable, with wide low couches, bright colours, and with more muggle artifacts and electronics than Ginny had ever seen in Diagon Alley. It suited them… right down to the doorbell that screamed "Feck off" at solicitors.

Wordlessly, Fred pressed a glass of water into her hand, "We're almost done. A bit has changed since you were here last week."

Ginny nodded, and took a long swallow. Her head felt fuzzy, her chest tight, but she attributed that to the sheer amount of tests that they were running.

She moaned in pain as the tattoo burned slightly, and George put his hand over it, forcing cool Power into it, "Sorry Gin. Had to do it."

"I know." Ginny shook her head to clear the dizziness, "I really don't feel well. And I need to get back before Draco wakes up. Are you finished?"

Fred shot George a look, noticing the flush that was covering Ginny's pale skin, how her muscles were trembling. They hadn't done anything to cause that.

"Gin, how sick is Blaise?" George asked, frowning.

"Very." Ginny gulped past the ache in her throat, her eyes tearing at the effort, "He's… well, really weak, plus he has an infection, and a bad flu."

George arched his eyebrow at Fred, and quickly placed his palm over Ginny's sweating forehead. She moaned weakly, and tried to turn away.

--

Draco watched his cauldron, waiting for the tell-tale smoke to rise. He had been working on the bloody Veritaserum for almost a month, and according to Slughorn, it would be ready in another couple of weeks. NEWT Potions could be a real joy sometimes. It almost made him miss Snape…

Cursing as he dropped his knife dangerously close to his thumb, Draco forced himself to concentrate. God knows, he had escorted Vince and Greg to the hospital wing often enough from 5th year Potions. Was it bad that he couldn't remember if they had even been in his 6th year Potions? He couldn't remember a lot from the year before.

Checking his watch, he realized that Potions was nearly over, and he started packing his quill and parchment into his bag, before checking his potion one last time against the text, and the writing on the board, before shoving the book in his bag as well.

Walking to lunch, he felt alone. He wasn't used to missing anyone, and yet… He was lonely. There was no Blaise to make him laugh, no Ginny to tease him and call him a "conceited git". He walked behind into the Great Hall, and spotted Pansy and Greg sitting together at the table with relief. It wasn't the same, but he trusted them… to a certain degree.

Pansy looked up from her soup, to smile at Draco, worry crossing her face briefly, "How's Blaise today? I want to stop by to see him after Transfigurations this afternoon."

"He seems better." Draco answered shortly, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, "Quiet. Which is mildly worrying."

Pansy smiled faintly, before turning away to greet Vince who was making his way over. Draco watched her from under his lashes.

Pansy was beautiful, but he had never felt a whole deal more for her than a brotherly affection. He and Blaise had known her for too long… It didn't help that she had had something going on with Vince for a number of years, that they seemed to think was still a secret.

Looking around the table, Draco realized just how much of everyone's secrets he did know. He knew that Theo tolerated him simply because his father had commanded it, and that he looked forward to a day when his wand could be at his throat. He knew that Greg secretly watched Blaise, hopeful that one day his lust would be returned. He knew that Milly had an appointment with the toilet after each and every meal.

It was really amazing what one could learn if they just watched and listened. Draco glanced over at the Gryffindor table, taking a note of Ginny's absence almost without thinking about, before he realized what he was doing. He scowled.

At least the Golden Trio weren't in school this year. He wasn't entirely sure where they were. No one seemed to. Blaise had asked Ginny about it once, but she had simply stared at him, and said that she didn't care for the topic. And that had been that. Draco had made a note to himself to press her on it later… but, well, little too late now. He knew that Harry had been there last June…

Draco did what he did best, thinking about the previous year, he closed off. Staring into space, he blanked his mind, and concentrated on tasting the soup that had appeared in front of him, not really noticing that it could have tasted like sawdust for all that he was noticing.

For all that he talked about hating Hogwarts, it was always so much easier to be here. Blaise had spent most of the summer with him, as he was finally of age, and could get out from his mother's hold, but Malfoy Manor was just… nothingness.

Wondering briefly what they would do come Christmas, Draco shifted in his seat, stretching out his long legs to cross them at the ankle under the table. He glanced up at the head table, and took in McGonagall's absence, Slughorn sipping what looked to be a very fine wine, and Tonks amusing Sprout by changing her hair colour. As their DADA professor she was… interesting, if nothing else.

Realizing he would have to hurry if he wanted to spend time with Blaise before Transfiguration, he quickly finished his lunch, and nodded at the few Slytherins he counted as friends, before leaving for the hospital wing.

It had been a week since Blaise had woken, and he was going stir-crazy. He was also worried about Ginny. Glancing over at Draco, he knew not to say anything.

Draco had been by his side almost every moment when he was not pushed out to go to class by Madame Pomfrey. But he had not mentioned Ginny since that first night. Anytime Blaise tried to bring her up, he had shut down, staring at Blaise blankly, silently, until the subject had been changed.

"What?" Draco drawled, not looking up from his book, but feeling Blaise's navy eyes on him.

"I just want out of here." Blaise rested back against the thick white cushions, feeling the lack of tension in his chest with relief.

Slowly, he was getting better, even though everything still looked fuzzy around the edges. With Madame Pomfrey watching him like a hawk, he had started to sleep regularly, but he would never allow her to give him any sort of sleep potion.

He watched Draco, watched Draco shut down again. For a while, it had seemed like he would open up to Ginny… but Blaise was pretty sure that would never happen. Draco made it a point of not forgiving, never forgetting… and her leaving, well, that was a big betrayal.

Blaise wasn't entirely sure what he personally thought about it. He just wanted to see her… talk to her, listen to what she had to say, hoping she had some kind of explanation. Ginny was… well, Blaise was pretty sure he loved her, as he loved Draco, though he had never said the words to her.

Draco heard what Blaise was thinking, as he never thought to shield himself, showing the degree of trust he placed in Draco.

Trying to throw up his shields, Draco stared at Blaise in surprise when he wouldn't let him. A stream of memories flew threw his mind… Blaise's memories… thoughts, images of Ginny.

Closing his eyes at the force of Blaise's mind, Draco drank in what he wanted him to see…

_Ginny grinned at him from her broom… they were both looking for the snitch, Blaise sitting in the middle of the pitch, looking up at them. Draco smirked at her, feeling the wind tossing his hair wildly, and saw that she was staring at him with hunger in her eyes. The snitch had been forgotten about that day, and Draco had had to buy a new one. It had definitely been worth it._

_Ginny studied at the table in Blaise's room, trying to ignore Draco and Blaise calling her from the bed. Draco watched as she tried not to grin, before standing up, and stretching her back languidly in the little nighty she was clothed in. Draco had moaned, yelling at her for being a tease, as Blaise had laughed._

_Blaise watched as Draco and Ginny talked quietly in the Great Hall, their bright heads bent together. Ginny had initially been closer to Blaise in every way but the physical, Draco did not open up, or trust easily. He was a bigger enigma, despite the secrets that she knew Blaise carried. They had found common ground in Quidditch, and realized they were more alike than either had thought. _

_Ginny riding Draco slowly, Blaise taking her from behind at the same time. The three of them touching, stroking any skin they could find-_

"Stop!" Draco commanded, holding up a pale hand to try to ward off the images. Blaise glared at him, "I don't want to think about her."

"Well, I do. I'm worried. She hasn't even been at school for a week. Don't you think that's weird?"

"What I think, is that she fucked me, and then left in the middle of the night without saying anything."

"Have you asked McGonagall?"

Draco shot him a look, and Blaise sighed again, his head dropping back on the pillows as he stared at the ceiling.

"When are you getting out of here, by the way?" Draco asked, grasping his hand to run his thumb over Blaise's knuckles in a gesture as close to an apology as he could manage.

"You miss me?" Blaise turned his head to smile tenderly at him, watching Draco's full lips curve into a genuine smile, transforming his face. It was somewhat awe-inspiring, and Blaise felt a flutter in his stomach.

"Something like that." Draco answered huskily, watching Blaise's eyes darken to an almost black.

"Good. I like being missed." Blaise grinned, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood, and Draco shook his head at him slowly, "It won't work. I want you."

Shuddering at Draco's frank admission, Blaise knew he couldn't do anything, his body just wasn't strong enough. He missed Draco. He missed Ginny.

--

Checking over her shoulder, Padma looked around to make sure that she was alone in the Ravenclaw common room. She had picked suppertime for a reason, she did not want anyone to overhear this.

Grabbing the handful of Floor powder, she tossed it into the roaring fire, and said firmly, "Weasley twins' apartment."

Looking over the store's accounts for the week, George tugged at his longish red hair. Irritated at himself, he forced his hand down to the desk. He had been trying to get rid of that particular nervous habit for years, and it was only when he was exceedingly stressed that he resorted to it again.

Pulling the cash register receipts, he frowned, quickly working out that one of their new lines was not selling as well as hoped. He'd have to talk to Fred about that, when they changed shifts.

George leaned back in his chair, resting his arms over his chest. Fred was due home in about two hours, and he couldn't help the fearful, restless feeling that had been in his chest for over a week now.

"Weasley!" A firm female voice called from the fireplace in the living room. George's eyes narrowed, and he stalked from the office to see who would be Flooing them. It was in his nature to be suspicious.

"Parvati?" He looked at the head in the fire with confusion, "What the hell do you want?"

"Where's Ginny?" Her voice was soft, and yet there was a scary undercurrent of authority there, "I've been trying to Floo you for a week, and McGonagall won't tell me anything. And it's Padma."

"Well, Padma, I can't really talk right now, but I will definetly Floo you later." George stared down at her floating head, a smirk firmly in place.

Narrowing her eyes venomously, Padma responded, "Look, you great red buffoon, you need to tell me where my friend is, or you will regret it."

George raised his pale red eyebrows at the snarl in her voice, and looked at her fascinated, "Did you just call me a great red buffoon? Words hurt."

"So does a knee to your groin." Was her reply. She then smiled slowly, remembering something Ginny had mentioned, "So does a nice long letter to your mother detailing exactly what you and Angelina did in the Gryffindor common room 6th year."

George laughed, "Do you really think I care if my mommy knows what I did in school?"

"Nope." Padma acknowledged, "But I'm sure she'd care if she knew about Fred's involvement."

Tensing, George stared at her, "That's rather below the belt."

"Quite literally."

"Do you know about our project?"

"Not everything, but I know enough." George wondered to himself for a moment how she could look at him so coolly with her head floating in flames.

"Well, we were running our tests on her, when she started getting really sick," He put his hand up as Padma opened her mouth to interrupt, "Let me finish. She started getting really sick, and as she had spent so much time with Blaise while he was sick the previous few weeks, we assumed that she had caught something from him. We took her to St. Mungo's that evening when she started vomiting."

"Is she ok?" Padma's eyes had widened, and George sighed, tugging on a piece of hair that hung almost to his shoulder.

"She will be. As soon as their healers checked her, they could see our Power in her, and notified the Ministry." He recounted bitterly, still irritated, "And now, well, Fred and I are under investigation, and the Ministry is trying to take our patents for the new… project. They've placed a big gag order on everything. I shouldn't even be talking to you, but well, you blackmailed me."

"A gag order?" Padma thought long and hard back to what she'd studied concerning the Ministry's jurisdiction over the summer when she had interned that, "I thought they could only do that for matters of State Security."

"So they can. Our work is rather… Well, it will be revolutionary, though they are setting us back a bit, as the healers are not allowing us to check Ginny as thoroughly as we need to." George sat down on the couch with a sigh, closing his eyes and thinking about just how much work had gone down the drain in the last couple of weeks.

"Oh, bully for you!" Padma's stern voice snapped his attention back to the fireplace, "I mean, Ginny just had to get sick and be brought to the hospital, but oh no, you've lost a bit of work. Grow the fuck up!"

"Miss Patil!" George put a hand to his chest in mock outrage, "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Eyeing the Ravenclaw he'd never really noticed before with interest, he almost didn't hear what she muttered under her breath, "I'm sorry, I missed that." He grinned mockingly.

"You know full well what I called you, you prat. How is Ginny? Can I visit her?"

"She's awake, and doing better. Weak. Quiet. Which is mildly worrying. Fred's with her right now, I'm going down later to trade with him. And no, you can't visit her. Didn't you just hear what I said about the Ministry gag order?"

"Can't you sneak me in?" She arched an eyebrow at him appraisingly, "Or is that beyond one of the great trickster princes of Hogwarts?"

George looked at her for a moment, eyebrows raised, "You think you can pull that shit with me?"

"Yes. I really do."

"Fine. If she's still in there by this weekend, I'll come get you. Now, be a good girl, and go do your homework or something."

"Crap insult." Were her last words before she left. George shook his head wondering why Ginny hadn't told him more about her spitfire friend. Part of him hoped his sister was still in the hospital this weekend, although he felt slightly guilty about it.

Padma sat back from the fireplace, a frown curving her lips. She had never really spoken to any of Ginny's brothers other than Ron, but it was an irritating experience. Putting the lanky redhead out of her mind, she decided to head down to supper before she was missed.

Making her way into the Great Hall, she noticed Draco's bright head at the Slytherin table. He was sitting with a group of 7th years, but he always seemed alone, even in a crowd. He didn't really talk to any of his companions, but seemed almost infuriating self-confident.

Padma had no idea what Ginny saw in him… he disconcerted her at the best of times, terrified her at the worst. At least Blaise had the charm. And he was friendly.

Ginny… Padma was at once relieved to know exactly what was going on, though she didn't fully understand, and worried that Ginny had been in St. Mungo's for so long. It seemed like a bad sign.

Parvati caught her eye from across the hall, and raised an eyebrow. Padma nodded at her briefly, letting her twin know that she had found something out. Parvati raised her eyebrows, before turning to talk to Dean.

Covering a piece of bread with the thick butter, Padma relaxed slightly, before realizing those disconcerting silver eyes were staring at her. Staring through her, as if he could see all of her secrets. She deliberately looked away from him, to talk to the 2nd year on her right.

Draco sat back, his mind blocked from hers. It was almost instinctual from what he had felt… she feared him. That made him wonder, but he shrugged to himself, and stood up gracefully, stilling as he felt Pansy rest a small hand on his wrist.

"Draco, we were thinking about having a mini game of Quidditch. Do you want to come?" She indicated herself, Vince, and Greg. Feeling the need for open air, and wind, Draco nodded, "Give me twenty minutes. I need to see Blaise first."

Pansy nodded, and watched him walk out of the Great Hall with the elegance of a big cat. Noticing Padma watching her with big chocolate eyes, Pansy turned away. She still felt deceived by their tentative friendship when she had refused to help Draco.

Padma's breath caught at the deliberate slight, and she again turned her attention to her plate. Well, wasn't she the popular one this evening.

--

Ginny woke slowly, her head feeling light, and looked around the darkened hospital room for a moment before remembering where she was an why. At least it was a private room… the Ministry took care of that.

Feeling a tug on her hair, she looked over to see Fred staring at her, a small smile curving his lips, "Hey Gin."

"Hi." Her mouth tasted like cotton. Not pleasant. "Where's George?"

"He's doing the accounts for the shop… Well, hopefully." Fred grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood, and felt a surge of happiness when she grinned back at him, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." Reaching up to run her hands through her hair, she grimaced at the grimy texture, "Were you able to tell Blaise and Draco?"

"No." Fred replied quietly. Ginny had been asking about them when she was delirious with fever, and asked about them every day. "Scrimgeour believe them to be a security threat due to their families. He won't allow them told. I'm sorry Gin. George and I have been trying, but it looks like we can't appeal that again."

"It's ok. I know you tried." Ginny wiped a small tear that ran down her cheek away. She missed them. It was so hard to sleep without them around her now… it was almost frightening to realize just how much she now depended on them in such a short time.

Fred threaded his fingers through hers, and noticed absent-mindedly just how small she really was. He squeezed, giving her silent comfort. "On the bright side though, it also means that Mom doesn't know. Can you imagine what she'd be like if she were here?"

Ginny giggled slightly, thinking about their mom's face glowing red with rage, arms crossed over her chest, tapping her toe, and glaring. Fred continued with his impersonation of their mother that he had perfected over many years of getting screamed at, "Fred and George Weasley! How DARE you put your poor sister through this! She is not an experiment! You had absolutely no right! Off with your heads!"

Grinning, he added, "Well, the last part probably isn't as accurate, but I felt it fit." Ginny smiled at him, appreciating his efforts, before turning her eyes to look out the window that was showing a night sky. She knew that it was just a charm, but it was still nice.

Distantly, she heard the door open, and Fred and George exchanging quiet words, before Fred left, and silence settled again.

"Hi Gin." George said quietly, unsure if she was asleep. She turned to look at him slowly, trying to smile. Ginny had never really been able to hide anything from George, and tonight was no exception.

His smile fading as he took in her face, he climbed up beside her, and hugged her shoulders close as her silent tears fell. "Gin… don't worry… you'll be out of here, and then you can ride off into the sunset with your boys. Don't cry…"

George rocked her slightly, not quite sure how to handle the situation, and heard her murmur, "They won't forgive me."

George stayed with her until she slowly fell into a fitful sleep, holding her slight shoulders, wondering when the hell everything had crapped up.

The Ministry wasn't supposed to know anything until he and Fred were ready… they would just fuck things up. There was also a chance now, that they would try to keep Ginny out of Hogwarts, and in one of their own safety houses, and George just couldn't let that happen.

Feeling a tightness in his throat, he felt truly guilty for the first time. Ginny had seemed like the perfect person for this, but now… He rubbed the small star tattoo that was located on his inner elbow, and sighed. Things were spinning out of control, and he didn't really know what to do.

A/N: Ok, a little shorter than I wanted, but well… this seemed like a good place. As I said in my profile… I know how badly is messing up right now, half the time anything past chapter 5 (reviews included) aren't showing up. It's not me messing with anyone, I swear! Check my profile if you have any questions, because I've had quite a few people now complain to me. I'm sorry! I'd fix it if I could!

Thank you for the wonderful reviews! A few people guessed she was going to the twins, though Airmid suggested Harry (hehehhe, that would have really messed with everyone's mind, huh?) I love reading what people think is going to happen, and I really do take some suggestions, because they are really good.

Few comments:

toxicvamp – I was wondering where you were! Hahahah, your reviews always make me laugh, I love the running commentary

Seravenia Briar Rose – exactly! They needed her, and she left. That's going to be a big deal, no matter that she had to go and so on.

dragoncharmer79 and ellen – DAMMIT!!! You guys guessed. I was so upset… hahhahahahhaha

lovelukaslithium – I don't know how I write so fast… I have a really high WPM, so maybe that's why… everyone has different styles, no worries. And I tried to put in a lot more Draco, so I hope that you like it.

Misery DeSoul and JulieMalfoyZabini – thanks so much for reviewing. And Misery, a little bit of a violent streak, huh? 


	10. Penetrate You

WARNING: Slash ahead.

Chapter 10:

Ginny leaned back against the fluffy pillows in Fred's spacious bed, and looked around with interest at the various gadgets, and mementos that littered almost every available surface.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the piece of parchment that she was currently writing on, using a book as a desktop on her knees. She was trying to write a letter to Blaise and Draco, and nothing seemed to sound right. There were crumpled pieces of parchment strewn around the bed from her earlier efforts.

The problem was, was that she was not allowed to say that much to them, as George was certain that the Ministry was intercepting their mail currently, and though it pained them, the twins had decided to play along for the moment as dollar bills floated in front of their eyes at how much the Ministry might end up paying for the patents.

_Dear Blaise and Draco,_

_How are you two? I'm fine-_

Muttering to herself about the banality of that attempt, Ginny ripped the piece of parchment off, and threw it to the end of the bed. It really should have been easier. Surely they wouldn't be mad about the situation, she didn't exactly have a choice.

"Gin?" Fred's muffled voice sounded as he knocked on the bedroom door, "You decent?"

Ginny laughed, and responded, "Get your arse in here. I'm bored out of my bloody skull."

Grinning widely, Fred entered, holding a tray containing soup and a sandwich. Ginny watched him suspiciously, "Did you attempt to cook again?"

"Shut up." He replied succinctly, then, with a rueful grimace, he expanded, "Mara made it earlier before she headed to the shop."

Ginny laughed at the mention of Fred's girlfriend, Mara, who had been a shop assistant during the summer, but had recently taken over the accounting for the soon-to-be-open WWW in Hogsmeade. She was almost as much of a trickster as the twins, and it was somewhat interesting to see one of her resolutely bachelor twin brothers showing some semblance of "settling down".

"The girl can cook." Ginny remarked, spooning up some of the soup, and closing her eyes at the food that was so much better than anything she had gotten at St. Mungo's. She had only been out for a few days, and was still mostly confined to Fred's bed, as he had lost a bet with George.

"She has a nice big bed too, as I've recently been kicked out of my own by my bloody sister." Fred grinned as she threw another ball of parchment at his head.

Throwing his long, lanky form into the chair beside her, he propped his legs up on the mattress, crossing them at the ankles. Fred looked around his room, taking in all of the expensive parchment that was now covering the carpet.

"I don't really need to think of my brother in that way, thanks." Ginny took a big bite of the chicken sandwich, and looked at him thoughtfully, "Who's managing the store right now?"

"Liam's down there, and Mara agreed to help today. She owed me a… favour." His eyes glinted wickedly, causing Ginny to hold up a hand to forestall any further comment. "Where's George?"

"He's out on a mission, a surprise for you." Fred winked at her.

Frowning, Ginny tried not to think about what constituted a 'surprise' in the twin's books. It was somewhat horrifying to think about the possibilities.

George leaned against the wall just outside of the Ravenclaw common room at Hogwarts, waiting patiently for the dark-haired minx to make an appearance.

He had tried the last Ravenclaw password he had been given (by a delightful blonde who had enjoyed his tongue in the months before he had left the school), but alas, it had been changed in the last two years. Still worth a try though.

Poking at his hair, which he had thrown a glamour charm on to make it a dull brown, he adjusted his boring black robes. The things he did for his sister, George shook his head. It was just plain disrespectful to the ladies that he changed his appearance like this. He laughed at himself, and wondered if this kind of thinking might contribute to the reason he was currently single.

Spotting a platinum head down the hall, heading toward him at a quick pace, George immediately turned to face the wall, hoping to avoid a meeting with Mr. Malfoy. He sighed as the tall young man walked past, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Padma Patil had better make an appearance soon, or he would have to leave her ass to rot in the school for the day.

Draco paused on his way to meet Blaise in the hospital wing, glancing back quickly at the lanky brunette loitering outside of Ravenclaw. He'd know those freckles anywhere…

Quickly whipping around, he tapped the boy on the back of his shoulder. George leapt about a foot, and whirled around to take in Draco staring at him expressionlessly.

"Good Gods Malfoy! You're like a fucking ghost! Get a damn bell!" Quite aware that he was babbling, George calmed himself with an effort, and grinned at Malfoy, who had simply raised a pale eyebrow at him in an expression of arrogant superiority.

"Weasley." Draco crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, his easy expression a contrast to the thoughts swirling through his head. For a moment, he felt a sense of hope at the sight of Ginny's older brother, but tapped it down quickly with a scowl.

George watched Draco's face carefully, looking for some sign that he gave a shit about his sister. Other than a sudden scowl there was… nothing. From the depths of Ginny's emotion about this man, as well as Zabini, he had expected something more. Well, that certainly made his job a little bit easier. No guilt in lying to someone who obviously didn't care.

"Malfoy." George mockingly copied Draco's stance and ease of expression, staring at those hard silver eyes. "To what do I owe…?"

"The honour?" Draco finished the sentence for him with a sneer. "Absolutely nothing. Just wondering what a Hogwarts dropout was doing lurking around Ravenclaw."

"Well, that would be none of your bloody business." George's chocolate brown eyes hardened minutely, before the mischievous veil swept over them again.

"Really?" Again, that pale eyebrow arched with an air of amused detachment, malice gleaming in the slate-grey eyes. "I'm sure Headmistress McGonagall would probably beg to differ. We can always go ask though."

"Piss off, Malfoy. This is none of your concern." George took a threatening step toward the boy, well aware that they were almost equal in size and weight, but deciding to chance it anyway.

Suddenly, the Ravenclaw portrait swung open, nearly braining the tall Weasley, and Padma stepped out surrounded by a group of second year Ravenclaws. Catching sight of Draco and a strange brunette, she stopped, motioning her curious-looking housemates on with a wave of her hand.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" She ignored the other boy for the moment, focusing instead on the platinum-haired boy in surprise. Could he be here because of Ginny? He had refused to speak to her after that awful night, but maybe he was finally coming to his senses.

At the sight of Padma, Draco sneered before turning on a heel and stalking away. Padma watched him wistfully. It was not fair that a man could have that much unconscious grace.

"Patil?" A low voice questioned her, and she turned to the strange brunette with surprise. She raised her dark eyebrows, seeing that something was vaguely familiar about his face, "Can I help you?"

"Well, at least you're not calling me a red buffoon this time." George grinned at her dawning comprehension, and casually buffed his nails on his robes, "It's the hair, isn't it?"

"Weasley." Padma breathed, seeing beyond the glamours as she focused. They were very good glamours as she had not noticed them until fully focused upon him. Frowning, she wondered wildly at how much power this boy had if he was able to put that much into a simple charm. She had never been unable to see beyond a glamour at first sight, and it had shaken her badly.

"You sound almost like Malfoy when you say my name like that." George grinned at her frown, wondering what the hell had wondered up her arse for her to be looking at him like that.

"Well, I don't know which of you it is." Padma challenged him, "And if I hadn't walked out of Ravenclaw, you would have had no idea if I was Parvati or not."

"Parvati wouldn't have frowned at me." He answered instantly, "And I'm George. I'm the good-looking one."

Padma looked at him with an expression of immense boredom at his words, "Can I see Ginny now? And why were you chatting with Draco here?"

"Well, he and I have always shared this bond. It's magical." He grinned at her before reaching out and grabbing his hand, "Come along now, Miss. Patil. We have places to go, people to see."

--

Draco shook his head as he walked away from the strange encounter with Ginny's brother, and made his way into the hospital wing where Blaise was shaking on his robes with the help of Pansy, as he made somewhat obscene remarks.

Shaking his head at Blaise's predictable behavior, Draco sat down in the chair beside the bed, "If you're finished, we can get back to the dungeons."

"He's such a cheerful individual." Blaise remarked with a grin to Pansy, who rolled her eyes, stepping away nimbly to avoid his hand which was trying to connect with her ass.

Sighing with mock exasperation, Pansy leaned over to kiss Draco's smooth cheek, "I have to go meet Vince, I'll see you two later. Blaise, stay out of trouble."

"Not bloody likely." Draco remarked dryly as she walked out, her laughter trailing back to him.

Blaise grinned and grabbed his bag off the bed, "I'm good. Well, hungry, but good other than that. Let's get back to Slytherin."

Listening to Blaise talk animatedly about all of the wonderful food he could now indulge in after his stay in the hospital wing, 'the food is HORRIBLE! Fucking Pomfrey wouldn't even let me have chips!', Draco thought about his encounter with the Weasley male.

What on earth had the git been doing at Hogwarts? He was obviously meeting Patil. Did it have anything to do with Ginny? Draco decided not to mention it to Blaise, as he tended to lose focus when it came to Ginny. Draco's lips curled in self-disgust as he realized that the same thing could be said about himself. The bloody girl had them both wrapped around her finger, whether he liked it or not.

Blaise stopped talking as he realized Draco was not paying attention at all, and carefully opened his mind to try to see what had Draco's attention. Seeing the encounter with one of the twins… with Padma… his decision not to tell Blaise.

Feeling his face flush with anger, Blaise pushed it away. Strong emotion was never a good idea if you were trying to be sneaky looking at someone's thoughts. Sure enough, Blaise pulled out just in time for Draco to look at him sharply, "What exactly were you looking for?"

"You know what I was looking for." Blaise responded quietly. Draco tended to get overprotective of the dark haired boy, and he knew it well. It was just part of who Draco was, he protected what he cared about. Too often those things had been taken away from him.

Waiting patiently for Draco to expand on what Blaise had seen, they lapsed into a tension-filled silence making their way down the stairs that would take them to Slytherin.

They were sidetracked, however, by the appearance of the Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Draco shook his head, and walked away as Blaise started to chat with her about Blibbering Humdingers that she had spotted in Hogsmeade. Blaise had always had an affinity with the girl that Draco couldn't really understand. Frankly, he thought she was out to the moon half the time.

As soon as Draco was out of ear-shot, a serious look transformed Luna's face, and she stared at Blaise intently, "Are you feeling better?"

Rubbing her arm slightly, Blaise smiled at her, "Much better. Why didn't you come visit me?"

"Draco." She said simply, she was well aware of what he thought of her, and she generally preferred to stay out of the ill-mannered boy's way.

"How was he when I was gone?" Blaise asked, somewhat nervously. Luna tended to see much more than anyone gave her credit for, and she had been an ally of Blaise's almost from the moment she had stepped into Hogwarts during his second year.

Luna swept her hair behind her shoulder, "Not great. Even more quiet and withdrawn. Right bastard mostly. A bunch of people tried to ask him about Ginny, but he just walked away, and after a few days, no one even mentioned her name around him."

"Really." Was the unsurprised answer. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Yeah, I've heard rumours, from a few contacts outside the school, that Ginny is with her twin brothers. I'm not sure why though. Things have been unusually quiet when it comes to her." Luna paused for a moment, her blue eyes thoughtful, "It's very strange how quiet. Usually I would have heard more." Blaise nodded in understanding, gossip ran rampant through the wizarding world, and the Weasley's, though poor, were still an important pure-blood family.

Frowning, Blaise worried the scars on his wrist with his other hand as he contemplated Luna's words. Watching him, she reached out to gently pull his hand away, and quickly cast the glamour that he had forgotten upon leaving the hospital wing. He smiled at her gratefully, and she reached out to hug him gently, "It's good to have you back."

"Of course it is." He leaned back to grin at her, "Who else would chat about those bloody nargles with you?"

"Exactly!" She laughed lightly, and pulled away to wander back to Ravenclaw. Blaise watched her go, shaking his head. Strange one that.

Making his way through the Slytherin common room, he stopped to greet Greg and Milly, nodded to Tracey and Theo, before making his way to his room where Draco was waiting for him.

Watching Blaise wander around the room, Draco reclined on the bed negligently, his robes discarded on the back of the chair. Blaise ran his fingers over his wizarding photos, his broom, everything he had been missing. He liked have his own personal, private space. At Zabini Manor… well… he definitely didn't have 'private' space. It was one of the main reasons he had gone after the Head Boy position with such determination.

Picking up a more recent picture of Ginny flying in her Quidditch robes, he looked over to see Draco staring determinedly at the ceiling. So, Blaise thought to himself, that was how he was going to play it. Ignore the issue. Such a Draco reaction.

"So, what did you get up to while I was laid up?" He asked conversationally, watching the blond closely.

Draco, well used to Blaise's manipulations, and abilities to pry information from even the most unwilling victim, simply sighed, and looked at him, "What do you want to know?"

Allowing his eyes to widen innocently, Blaise drawled, "Why, just if you missed me, of course."

Watching the dark-haired boy, Draco simply rolled his eyes at him, before gracefully standing from the bed, before walking to him. Blaise stepped forward so his lips rested gently on Draco's, wrapping his arms around the taller boy's waist and leaning into him.

Draco angled his head slightly before fully capturing Blaise's lips, brushing his tongue inside and deepening the kiss. His long fingers speared into Blaise's silky black hair, holding his head in place as he took possession.

Moaning against Draco's lips, Blaise tightened his hold pulling them together firmly. Pulling back to gasp in much-needed air, Draco rested his forehead on Blaise's, and stared into his navy eyes in want. Nodding slightly, Blaise stepped away to grab Draco's hand and pull him to the large bed.

Blaise fell down into the bed, and before he could loose all thoughts, he sent a thought to Draco that he could postpone the questions all he wanted, but Blaise would get answers sooner or later.

--

Padma sat cross-legged on the end of Fred's bed, looking at her cards intently. George had brought her to the apartment, with a lot of needless double-entendres, and Ginny and her friend had been chatting for most of the afternoon. Finally, Fred had produced a set of cards, and badgered them into playing a few games of poker.

Unfortunately for him, he had not realized that Ginny's friend was more of a card-shark than even she was. It was a humbling experience to lose that much money, in that little time, to two girls who were three years his junior. Cursing George's disappearing act again to himself, he prepared to lose more money.

Ginny had laughed seeing George and Padma enter the room earlier in the day. George had been absolutely infatuated, and Padma had simply seemed irritated by his presence. He had been bewildered that his charm was simply not working on her, and Ginny had found it entirely too amusing to try and help him. He had left in a huff not long after.

"A royal flush." Padma carefully laid her cards down on the bedspread before Fred's horrified eyes, and he cursed before giving her and evil glare and throwing his own cards down, "You're cheating!"

Ginny looked at him with an arched eyebrow, "Are you seriously accusing someone else of cheating? YOU?"

Fred glared at her, "Some sister you are. Can't even stand up for your poor bloody brother."

"Well…" Padma looked at her winnings, "You got the poor part right at least."

Ginny giggled at the look on Fred's face. Throwing his cards on the bed, Fred stood up, "Not that I'm not having a great time, or anything, but I should go see how Mara and Liam are doing in the shop. Saturdays you know… awfully busy."

Waiting until Fred had left the room, Padma and Ginny started laughing loudly. Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Ginny looked at Padma out of the corner of her eyes, "If you give me half of what you won, I won't mention to Fred that you were cheating."

Padma grinned, unashamed, and pushed half the bulk over to the redhead. "Couldn't help myself. My goodness, he does get all red and splotchy when angry, huh."

Shaking her head, Ginny gathered up the cards again to put away.

"So, Gin…" Lifting her head at Padma's serious tone, "Have you owled Blaise and Draco yet?"

"No." Ginny stared at the small box of cards, not wanting to meet Padma's dark eyes, "Honestly, I don't know what to say. I still can't believe that George told you. The Ministry has our owls watched, and I can't chance it."

"I can bring a message if you like." Padma offered lightly, watching Ginny's eyes light up at the prospect.

"That would be fantastic!" Ginny reached over for her abandoned parchment and quill, and quickly began scribbling down everything that had happened, including the details of the twin's experiment and project, and her involvement. So intent was she on her task, she didn't notice Padma leaving the room to wander into the kitchen for a drink.

Leaning against the counter sipping on the glass of water, Padma's eyes took in the details of the surprisingly comfortable apartment. Painted a bright, sunny yellow, a hardwood floor squeaked under her feet, and large, comfortable couches dominated the living room.

Pictures were everywhere of the Weasley family and friends, and Padma looked closer at one of the twin's posing as mummies in front of a pyramid in Egypt.

"Great place." George intoned from behind her as she took in the details of the sandy land. Padma whirled around in surprise, unaware that he was still in the apartment, and promptly dropped her glass on the floor. Wincing as it shattered, spraying her with water, she heard George swear before muttering a few spells to get it cleaned up.

"Sorry about that." Padma motioned to the floor where the glass and water had been. He held the glass out to her again silently. Sipping, she looked at him in surprise. She hadn't been aware that he could be this quiet for this length of time.

The silence stretched between them, broken only when Padma sat slowly on one of the couches. George leaned against the table, watching her intently. Noticing her fidget under his gaze, he grinned, and sauntered over to sit across from her.

"Having fun?"

"At this exact moment?" She shot back, intent on ignoring him as she drank her water.

"Well, I know you're having fun at this exact moment." He shook his head, as if her words were too silly to consider, and continued, "I meant, the school year in general, life, all of that."

"Sure, why not?" Looking at him suspiciously, she carefully placed the now empty glass on the coffee table that separated them.

"You're too serious." He commented lightly, watching the way her dark eyes shot up to meet his, before they narrowed. Making her angry was entirely too much fun. She was way too sexy when she was riled.

Seeing George's enjoyment at her anger, Padma forced herself into her usual serene state, and simply looked at him, before looking out the window behind his head. "That's your opinion."

"Ah, so you've pulled out the mask again, how wonderful." He drawled, smirking slightly as her eyes shot back to him.

"You are not one to be talking about masks, Master Prankster." Padma retorted, lounging back in the chair, and crossing her long legs, noticing his eyes shooting to watch as her robe gaped momentarily to show skin. She rolled her eyes, typical male.

"And just what might that mean, Mistress Padma?" He asked, moving his eyes slowly back to her face, "And by the way, you can call me master anytime you wish."

Hearing the innuendo in his silky voice, Padma shot him a look of bored detachment, before turning to the window once more. "Figure it out."

Before he had a chance to retort, Ginny appeared at the entrance to the living room, "Padma? Do you have to leave anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I have some homework." Padma stood slowly, making a point of adjusting her form-fitting robes around herself to emphasis curves for George's eyes. Knowing well how to play the opposite sex, she grinned to herself as his eyes wandered over her, until meeting her face, his lips curved in a cocky grin.

"Do you need any… help?" He voice was low, seductive, and Padma resisted the urge to roll her eyes again at him.

"Why, thank you for the offer." She spoke slowly, "But I am more than capable of helping myself."

Watching her brother get shot down really shouldn't have been as amusing as it was to Ginny. She handed Padma the envelope with her letter, and put a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter as George gaped at the dark-haired girl as she stepped into the fireplace.

"Bye Gin, I hope I'll see you Monday." Padma reached out to grab a handful of the Floo powder beside the mantle, "And I'm sure I'll see you again… Fred."

Unable to help herself, Ginny erupted into giggles. George snarled at her, but that simply helped to set her off further. "Did she just call me Fred?"

"Yes." Ginny gulped, trying to control herself, "Yes she did."

"She knew I wasn't Fred though."

"You're right." Bursting into full blown laughter at George's face, Ginny was able to breathlessly speak, "Maybe you just didn't make that big an impact that she would remember."

George glared at her, before turning to disappear into his room. Ginny stood in the living room, smirking to herself, if anyone could play the devoted ladies man at his own game, it would be Padma. And it would incredibly fun to watch.

--

Blaise gasped as Draco's skilled mouth found the head of his cock, lightly liking around the tip, before sliding over it completely. He squirmed on the bed against the blond head, his fingers clenched in the sheets at his sides, he couldn't help the loud moans that were issuing from his throat at Draco's ministrations.

Long, pale fingers found Blaise's hips, and held him in place for the sweet torture. Draco took his time, pulling off when he felt Blaise getting too close, and then starting again.

Quite sure that Draco was trying to drive him insane, Blaise grabbed the back of his head, fingers tangling in the bright locks, and cried out as he came hard in Draco's mouth.

Gasping for air, he felt Draco slide up the bed to lounge beside him, holding him tightly. Blaise could feel the heat from his body, and instinctively curved into him as he kissed Blaise's neck tenderly.

"So that's what I was missing…" Blaise joked lightly, still panting. Draco chuckled softly against his skin, tasting the sweat there.

Holding each other, they lay in companionable silence, the smell of sex surrounding them. Draco threaded his fingers through Blaise's hair, stroking his head tenderly. Almost purring, Blaise leaned into the caress, and felt himself start to nod off. Wrapping his arms more securely around Draco, his thoughts inevitably turned to a fiery redhead whose presence was sorely missed.

Draco kissed Blaise's forehead as he drifted off to sleep, and watched the play of lights on his perfect pale skin. A little more slender from the hospital stay, Blaise's muscles still stood out, tensing periodically in his sleep. Draco's fingers lightly caressed the body that he knew as well as his own, finding extreme comfort in having him close again, but missing Ginny.

Burying his head in Blaise's shoulder, Draco groaned painfully. He hated missing her, hated thinking about her. It went against everything within him. Draco knew how much Blaise thought about her, and how worried he was, but it was in Blaise's nature to be more caring, to be forgiving.

Draco… well, he didn't do forgiveness. It was something that had been instilled in him almost from the beginning. It was a sign of weakness, and one which he would take great pains to not fall prey to.

Turning on his side in his sleep, Blaise unconsciously pulled Draco closer, and sighed at the contact. Draco tightened his hold almost painfully on his lover, quite determined to not let him get hurt again.

A/N: Ok, finally able to get this chapter out. I had SOOOO many issues, including re-doing about five pages – NIGHTMARE TASK. I should post all of the outtakes of scenes, and various other things, some of them are amusing, they just don't entirely fit the story, and ruin the flow.

Anyway, again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! It's so exciting to see and read what people think! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm having a great time with the characters, and I am endlessly amused writing Padma and George, so they will definitely have more moments. Also, I enjoyed Luna. I want to develop her more as a character as she is one of the few that is the same age as Ginny.

Thank you again! And review so I know what you think!


	11. The Only Thing

Chapter 11:

Ginny reached for her pumpkin juice, and looked at Blaise over the rim of the goblet across the hall. She had been back at Hogwarts for a week, but neither he, nor Draco had made any sort of effort to see her.

The first day back, she had spotted Draco in the hall, and had tried to approach him with a big smile, but he had simply seemed to stare right through her, before turning on his heel and walking away with a whirl of his robes.

Since then, she had tried to talk to Blaise as well, and had received a sad, sympathetic smile, before he too walked away. According to Padma, she had given the letter to Draco, but Ginny was going to assume that he had not really cared about it.

Refusing to dignify their childish behavior by following them like a lost little puppy, she had full-heartedly thrown herself into her schoolwork, and her Gryffindor friends, who were curious as to where she had been, but still happy to see her.

Quidditch helped too, but their last game before the Christmas break had been a few days before she had come back. Dean and Seamus had played a few games of pickup with her, but it was almost too cold outside for flying at this point.

Yawning, she tried to pay attention to what Lavender was saying, and failed miserably as another yawn escaped. "I'm so sorry Lav… I think I need to head to the tower."

Lavender waved her off with a face, and the rest of the group briefly looked up from their dinner with a chorus of goodbyes.

Walking out of the Great Hall, Ginny pulled her book bag into a more comfortable position and glanced around the entranceway out of habit before heading over to the hall that led to the stairs.

"Ginny?" A low voice called quietly, and she turned to see Blaise walking toward her, his navy eyes flashing in the shadows.

"Blaise?" She stared at him in mild disbelief, "You've decided to talk to me now?"

Blaise reached out to gently touch her cheek, before letting his hand drop to his side, "Come on Ginny. You're the one who took off."

"I sent you a letter explaining that!" She glared at him, and crossed her arms over her chest. He shot her a look of disbelief.

"Look, Draco really isn't going to forget about this."

"What about you?"

Blaise's eyes hardened momentarily, before taking on a weariness she had never seen before, "You know that I need to stick by Draco. You know the score."

Her eyes filled with unexpected tears as she registered the rejection, "I always came last, didn't I?"

Staring at her for a moment longer, Blaise turned to head to the Slytherin dungeons, forcing himself not to look back at the small redhead.

Ginny wiped the moisture off her cheeks angrily, and stalked up the stairs to the safety of Gryffindor.

She forced herself not to think about the two Slytherins who were giving her such grief, and stalked into the common room with a growled "_Alohamora_" at the fat lady.

"Good grief… For someone so small, you do give up a hell of a racket when you're mad, don't you?" Seamus remarked from where he was studying in the corner.

Ginny summoned a small smile for him, before heading up the stairs towards the girls' dorms. Pulling on her nightclothes, she stood at the end of her bed, and stared at it, glad that her roommates were still in the Great Hall.

For the first time since she had really arrived at Hogwarts, it no longer felt like home. Even Tom Riddle had not been able to take that from her. It hurt…

Bracing her forehead against the post of the large bed, Ginny gritted her teeth, and fought the tears with every fiber of her being. Breathing heavily, she pounded her head against the wood in frustration. It was so damn difficult knowing exactly what she was missing. God… she couldn't wait for the Christmas holiday. The Burrow was looking better and better.

Seamus stared at the stairs for a moment in indecision… The need to go after her was almost overwhelming…

Pausing at the stairs long enough to cast the spell that the Weasley twins had taught him before they had left, he climbed up and headed for the 6th year room that Parvati had once pointed out to him when they had briefly dated earlier in the year.

Ginny turned to the door as a hesitant knock sounded, and opened it to find Seamus staring down at her. "Seamus… how promiscuous of you that you know how to make it up the stairs."

Seamus stared at her for a moment, taking in the very skimpy tank top that hugged her full breasts so lovingly, every breath she took making him aware of the lack of undergarments. Seeing the sliver of skin laid bare between that and the low-riding pajama bottoms, his fingers itched to stroke the softness he knew lay there.

He grinned at her wry tone, "Well, love, what can I say? Can't deprive the ladies."

Smiling at his familiar Irish lilt and flirting, she motioned for him to come into the room. "What can I do for you Mr. Finnegan?"

"Thought you'd need some company, love…" He paused to tuck a red curl behind her ear, "Or a stiff drink." Ginny laughed lightly, and headed toward her bed, slipping under the covers and holding them out for him to join her.

Pulling off his shoes and sweater to toss under the bed, he slid into the large bed. Ginny smiled up at him as he pulled the curtains closed, before settling down to cuddle into her.

"Thanks Seamus." Tucking her head under his chin, she held onto him tightly, "This means a lot, it's been a bad day."

Seamus kissed the top of her head, laying his cheek against the soft hair there and relaxed against her. It was almost killing him not to make a move, he had wanted to be with Ginny since she had broken up with him in the summer. Softly murmuring "_Silencio_", he placed his wand on top of her headboard.

Knowing that any advance he might make would not be taken well by the small witch, he stroked his hands slowly up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing way, instead of a "randy bastard" way.

Feeling herself relax, Ginny closed her eyes and basked in his warmth. It felt so good just to be held… though, it felt strange to be in Seamus' wiry arms, not feeling Draco and Blaise surrounding her with their presence and scents.

She must have fallen asleep, as she slowly woke up savoring the sensation of being held against a warm body, a feeling that she had sorely missed. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see Seamus staring down at her with deep brown eyes that spoke of tenderness.

"Hi." His voice was warm and low with sleep, his Irish lilt more pronounced in the murky tones. Smiling at him somewhat shyly, Ginny looked away from the depth of feeling she could see in his face.

"Hi." Her voice was as soft as his had been, and muffled against the white t-shirt that covered his chest.

"Gin…" Seamus paused, as if he was thinking about what he would say next, "Is there any chance for us?"

A long silence deepened between them as Ginny wished the floor would open up beneath her… figuratively, of course, one could never be too sure of that kind of thing in Hogwarts castle.

Biting her lip, Ginny looked up at him again, meeting his intense eyes once again, full on. "Seamus, I… I really don't know."

Seamus smiled tenderly at her, and tightened his hold around her shoulders, "Well, at least that wasn't a no."

Tilting her head back fully to kiss his cheek lightly, his stubble scratching at her sensitive lips. She started in surprise as Seamus turned his head to brush his lips against hers, and simply stiffened as his mouth moved over hers, not sure whether to respond.

Moving his large hand up to cup the back of her head, Seamus felt the silky weight of her hair and lightly massaged her skull with his fingertips, moving his mouth down to the clean line of her jaw.

Ginny gasped lightly at the sensations that were running through her as he nuzzled across a sensitive point just below her ear. She drew back slightly, however, as she realized that she was trying to superimpose Draco's silky soft silvery hair to the slightly wiry curls brushing against her skin, and Blaise's firm touch to Seamus' feathery-light caresses.

"I'm sorry, Seamus…" She spoke softly, and moved away from him so that a foot of space separated them on her large bed, "I'm just not ready for this."

Desire still coursing through him, Seamus nodded at her, before reaching out to smooth his thumb over one of her high cheekbones, "Love, I'm honestly just happy you're letting me be here with you. Don't worry about anything further."

Ginny smiled gently at him, and wondered whether she would ever be ready for him, and whether it was even fair of her to allow him to lay in her bed with her when she was already questioning it. Closing her eyes, she willed sleep to take her away from her worries, and again thought longingly of the Christmas break.

Across the castle, Draco stared at the back of Blaise's inky head, willing him to relax, and turn to him.

"Piss off." Blaise mumbled into his pillow, and hunched his broad shoulders defensively.

--

Ginny pulled her potions text out of her bag, and looked around the empty room. She was early, again, as usual, in her bid to avoid her classmates sympathetic looks in the Great Hall as she studiously avoided looking at the Slytherin table.

Looking over her essay that was due for Slughorn, Ginny didn't look up as the heavy door was opened, and footsteps tapped on the stone floor.

"Weasley." The low voice shook her to her very core, and she quickly looked up, meeting silver eyes head on.

"Malfoy." Her voice seemed to shake, despite the fact that she was trying for a cool, confident tone. He looked tired…

Draco stared down at the small redhead that he had been unable to get out of his head. Her brilliant hair was bound back in a strict French braid, and his fingers itched to release it from it's confines… She was pale…

"Was there something you wanted?" This time, Ginny was pleased with her voice, the trembling under control. His hard gaze was starting to unnerve her.

Draco swallowed against the instant obstruction that had presented itself in the back of his throat, "He misses you."

Feeling the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, Ginny stared at him, trying to compose herself enough not to cry as she talked. Nope, not possible.

Watching as Ginny stared at him coolly, Draco felt anger rising in him at her cool composure. The woman seemed to not care at all that he had put himself out there. Sneering at her, he stared over her head, "Obviously, this was a bad idea. I shall leave you to your studies."

Ginny watched him leave, the predator-like elegance that shrouded him showing itself in every step, and surreptitiously wiped at the tears that had welled up in her eyes with the sleeve of her black robe.

--

"Well, they're both prats." Padma denounced upon hearing the details of Ginny's visit, however brief, with Draco.

Ginny nodded mutely, and flicked through her copy of Quidditch Weekly, hoping to glance something that might work as a Christmas gift for Ron. They were curled up in one of the large window seats in the Ravenclaw common room which was made cozy against the snow storm raging outside by a roaring fire in the large hearth.

"What are you going to do?" Delicately choosing a chocolate from the large box the lay between them, Padma glanced at the smaller girl.

Ginny sighed and put her magazine down, "I have no idea. I think I've already done more than enough… the next move is Draco's. I did wrong, but I had my reasons, as you well know, and he didn't give a shit."

"I agree." Padma looked at her nails with a great concentration, unwilling to meet Ginny's bright blue eyes, "but you miss them. You love them."

Ginny's head popped up in shock, "I do not love them."

"Yes, you do." Padma continued on despite Ginny's denials, "You haven't admitted it, but you will. And that doesn't address the fact that you do miss them. I know that Seamus has been hanging around, but we both know that you don't look at him with anything more than friendship these days… the same with any other man since Blaise and Draco really came into the picture."

Looking at Padma with something akin to shock, Ginny sputtered, "How did you manage to say all of that without taking a breath?"

"Never mind that, Gin, you need to focus on this." Padma folded her arms across her chest and shot her friend and fierce look, "It isn't just going to go away, despite the fact that they are both prats."

"That was some pep talk, Padma," Ginny reached for a chocolate, "Had all of the subtlety of a sledgehammer."

"Well, you are all behaving like children, I felt the need to say something."

Narrowing her eyes at Padma, Ginny decided that that was enough talk about her irritating love life, "So, Padma, what about you and my prat of a brother?"

Padma tensed slightly, before forcing herself to relax, "Oh, well, Ron isn't _exactly_ my type, sorry darling."

Ginny laughed at the evasion, and shook a finger at Padma, "Nice try."

"Tell me this, Gin, why do we always have to talk about boys?" Ginny grinned at the emphasis that was placed on the last word.

"Tell me this, Padma, why do you only say that when we talk about you, and yet I am fair game?"

"Because your situation is infinitesimally more interesting than mine."

"Are you going to say anything about George?"

"Nope." Padma reached for the box of chocolates, "There is nothing to tell. You know as well as I that your brothers are notorious flirts. I'm not going to be wasting my time on that sort of bullshit."

"Hmm…" Ginny watched her for a moment, before shrugging and looking out the window to where the snow was falling at a steady pace on the lake.

"I've kind of been watching Seamus for awhile, but he's so in love with you, that I don't think it's worth it." Ginny's head whipped around at the casually spoken words, "What?"

Smiling a soft, resigned smile, Padma's dark good looks were accented by the firelight, "You heard me. I've liked Seamus for months… but I know there's absolutely no chance for us."

"Padma… I…" Ginny reached over to hug her friend tightly, accepting that Padma returned the embrace half-heartedly, "I didn't know. I've just been thinking about Blaise and Draco and… I'm sorry. I haven't been giving you the attention you deserve."

"Don't worry." Padma smiled at her, and wove her fingers through Ginny's in a gesture of affection, "Parvati didn't realize either… It was kind of a shocker when they started seeing each other around Halloween, but I dealt. Obviously, I am not an open book, and I know it well."

Tightening her arms around Padma's curvy waist, Ginny leaned her forehead against her shoulder, "You're perfect, Padma. It's the rest of us who have the problem… Never you. Don't doubt yourself now, you're my role model."

Padma laughed tightly and leaned her cheek against the top of the red head, and closed her eyes, "Don't be silly, Ginny. No one is perfect. All one can do is try to conceal their biggest imperfections."

They sat like that for some time, staring into the fire together until Ginny felt herself starting to drift off, sleep proving to be an almost impossible desire to overcome. Padma felt Ginny sway against her, and nudged her up.

"Come on Gin, you can crash in my room tonight."

Across the castle, Draco lounged outside of the Gryffindor portrait-entrance, growing more and more angry at himself as it became clear that Ginny had obviously found another bed for the night.

Reaching out for Blaise out of habit, again he felt the walls that had been there for over a week. Draco hadn't felt this alone in a long time, and it almost physically pained him.

Thinking about that, he walked over to stand in front of the fat lady, "My good lady, has Ginevra Weasley graced you with her presence this evening?"

The fat lady stared at him for a long moment, and he smiled charmingly at her, focusing all of his attention on her until she smiled back, and answered, "No, young Malfoy, she left for dinner, and has not been back."

He nodded stiffly at her, before turning to walk away. So… he, and Blaise, were pining for her… and she obviously did not feel the same. Feeling a coldness in his chest, he wandered back to the Slytherin dungeons, and entered the room that he shared with Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott, but which he had not slept in.

Wondering briefly if Blaise would actually miss him, Draco lay down to sleep without removing his clothing.

Theo watched Draco's entrance, and caught the look that Crabbe and Goyle shared. So… Blaise and Draco were not as impenetrable as they had thought. Smiling slightly to himself, Theo rolled over, sleep claiming him in moments.

--

Padma watched the Slytherin table with curiosity the next morning at breakfast. There was some major differences to the dynamics going on between the Slytherins that had not been there previously.

Draco and Blaise were quite obviously not sitting together, and were both completely silent and expressionless. Theo was grinning as if Christmas had come early, and everyone else was sneering as per usual, but looking concerned nonetheless.

Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, she saw Ginny sitting staring at her plate, playing with her eggs, while Parvati and Lavender tried to talk to her, in vain. Seamus was a few seats away, staring at her bent head. Padma quickly looked away from his dark head, and found Pansy staring at her.

Nodding her head toward the entrance of the Great Hall, Pansy smiled at Vince before turning to leave. Since the Parkinsons had thrown their support behind Dumbledore in her third year, they had had to date in secret, and it wore on her.

Standing outside of the Great Hall, Pansy inspected her nailpolish while waiting for Padma to join her. Spotting her coming, Pansy took off at a sedate pace for the empty classroom she knew was just down a corridor.

"Pansy?" Padma called as she entered the room behind her, "You beckoned?"

"I did." She made herself comfortable on a desk, and crossed her legs under her robes, motioning for Padma to do the same. "We need to talk about this stupid situation."

"I completely agree." Padma leaned forward, "Ginny is absolutely miserable, and from what I can see, the other two aren't doing so hot."

"Not so hot?" Pansy snorted, and ran a hand through her black hair to push it off her pale forehead, "They've gotten to the almost-pathetic stage. I'm sick of this crap."

Author's Note: I haven't updated in awhile, and I'm sorry... if you've checked my profile, you'll see that my life has been haywire. Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, I have been reading them, and they truely make me want to write, so thank you for all of the great support I've gotten. This chapter, I just wanted to bring everyone back to Hogwarts, and the big secrets should be revealed next chapter as 'Complicate You' is almost at an end... Don't worry, I have the sequel planned in my head. :)

By the way... I'm VASTLY surprised no one has guessed where the title, and chapter headings are from... VERY surprised. A cookie to whoever guesses, as this is amusing to me. :)


	12. From the Inside

Warning: SLASH AHEAD.

Chapter 12:

Draco woke slowly, feeling a warmth against his side that hadn't been there for almost a week. It was the longest that they had been apart in what seemed like years. Smiling, he tightened his hold on Blaise's waist, pulling him tight to his chest.

"Mmm." Blaise murmured into the bedding, "You're so damn warm."

Chuckling softly, Draco leaned forward to place a kiss on the back of Blaise's shoulder. Again, it seemed like it had been so long since it was just the two of them, but as always, he was so incredibly comfortable around Blaise.

So much was left unspoken between them, but Blaise was content for the moment not to push him. He had watched Draco retreat behind his expressionless mask the last time he had brought up Ginny's name, and didn't want to push him again.

His lips still against Blaise's smooth skin, Draco quietly wondered aloud what they would do for the holidays, which was set to begin the very next day.

"Do you want to go home?" Blaise asked, trepidation in his voice.

"No." Was the only answer he received. Draco sighed, and kiss his shoulder again in a silent apology for the hint of anger, "Do you still want to go into muggle London this year? Go to a hotel… clubs, drinking, all of that? Pansy mentioned a hotel that we could stay at that she liked. She even said she would make us reservations, if we liked."

"Definitely." Blaise turned his head to look at the blond closely, "You in muggle London? That sounds like it could be highly entertaining."

Draco smirked at him, "So glad I can provide you with some amusement."

Grinning, Blaise leaned further to brush a kiss along Draco's lips, knowing exactly why Draco had suggested that. "I think I'm going to like getting my way."

Chuckling softly, Draco hugged him tightly, "Don't get used to it, it won't last much longer."

Turning in Draco's arms to face him, Blaise stared into his mercury eyes, feeling his smile fade slowly as they darkened. Running his fingers over the pale golden eyebrows, down a smooth cheek, across silken lips, Blaise closed his eyes as if to memorize his friend and lover's familiar face.

Draco lay motionless under Blaise's fingers. Everything Blaise did, seemed to carry an air of finality, and though he knew it was due to his close call, and stay in the hospital, Draco was finding it hard to accept his attitude.

Sighing, he grabbed Blaise's wrists, and held them to his chest, leaning in to run his lips over full lips. "Stop that. You're not dead, and you're not dying."

Cheeks reddening, Blaise opened his navy eyes to look at Draco again, "I didn't realize that was what I was doing."

"Well, you were. And it's bloody irritating." Contradicting his harsh words, Draco rubbed his thumbs in circles on the sensitive skin of Blaise's inner wrists, feeling the raised skin of the scars gently, tenderly.

Hearing Blaise's breath catch, Draco smiled slightly before letting go and leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on the side of his neck. Blaise's hands found their way to the back of his neck, urging him forward wordlessly, and Draco increased his ministrations.

Exploring the cords of muscle he found where Blaise's neck met shoulder, Draco slowly pushed him to lay on his back, leaning over him to find the responsive spot just behind his ear. As Blaise moaned, Draco laved the spot with his tongue, sucking on the spot, before moving down slowly, his lips, tongue, and teeth, exploring the pale skin.

Making his way down to a flat pink nipple, Draco paused slightly to glance up at Blaise's gasping face, smirking slightly as his tongue reached out to flick the hard nub lightly. Blaise's fingers bunched into the pillow on either side of his head, biting his lower lip as Draco's hand found him hard beneath the thin sheet.

Exploring the contours and ridges of the muscles tensed along his chest and abdomen, Draco grinned against the soft skin as he re-familiarized himself with the body he had known for years. Tracing a line with his tongue, following his fingers, feeling Blaise straining, arching into him.

Blaise moaned as he was sure Draco was intent on driving him out of his mind. He looked down to see Draco staring up at him with slate eyes, his tongue still on the skin of his lower stomach. He reached out with one slightly shaking hand to run his fingers through the soft hair at Draco's temple.

Closing his eyes, Draco leaned into the hand, almost purring at the contact. Shuddering, he again dragged his hand down to stroke Blaise's length with gentle fingers.

In the Hogwarts tower, Ginny flopped onto her stomache, breathing heavily as the aftermath of an intense orgasm crashed through her. Pushing her sweaty hair off of her forehead, she groaned into her pillow, glad that Seamus had never taken the _silencio_ off of her bed.

She missed Blaise and Draco… and knowing that they were together, and projecting sexual energy like that was incredibly difficult for her. They obviously weren't as affected by their separation as she was, and that hurt.

--

Fred grinned at Mara, before walking over to glare menacingly at a group of teenaged boys who had their sticky little fingers entirely too close to a tub of lemon drops.

Life was more than good… He had gone from being the ultimate bachelor, to trying to hold back from giving her the ring that was in his bureau drawer. They had only been dating for about four months, and he knew that she was not quite ready for something that permanent, but it was a surprising feeling for him to want it so badly.

He had met Mara when she had come in for an interview as a shop assistant, fresh from graduation at Beauxbaton's Academy in France, and he had instantly determined that he wanted into her pants. Not quite love-at-first-sight, but it worked for them.

It had been strange not to have her around the Diagon Alley store as much when she had taken over the accounting for the Hogsmeade branch, but he tried to spend at least a few days of the week over there to 'help her out', as he called it, 'being a bloody pain in the arse' was the way she chose to term it.

Mara watched her boyfriend with a grin. As she pulled out the shop's ledgers, she wondered idly how long it would take Fred to get over his nervousness, and pull out that ring she had spotted in his drawer the week before.

"Hey Love," Fred's well-defined arms slid around her waist from behind. She smiled and leaned back against him as he continued, "Let me take you out tonight. You work too hard."

Chuckling, Mara turned to link her arms over his shoulders, "I work too hard? Darling, everyone works too hard in comparison to you and your slacker brother." Fred grinned at the slang that she had picked up in the short time she had been in England from the Weasley twins. It sounded odd with her soft French accent.

"Exactly!" He grinned widely, showing off the dimple in his left cheek that she loved so much, "You work too damn hard. Let's go out… dinner, dancing, the works."

Arching a dark eyebrow up at him, sparkling green eyes caught his own, "Any special occasion?"

Was it wrong that she found amusement in his discomfort? Was he blushing? She almost laughed out loud, but caught herself just in time.

"No reason." He looked around shiftily, trying to avoid Mara's penetrating gaze. It always felt like he couldn't lie to her, and that almost scared him, that he really had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.

Mara eyed him again. Yep, he was definitely uncomfortable. She gleefully wondered how far she could push this before he caught on. Maybe she could get George involved in some way….

George threw the bezoar in his cauldron with disinterest, trying to think about the Ministry's offer that he and Fred had received the day before. They didn't seem to want to appreciate the fact that the spell was not yet completely tested… they just wanted to slap it on the Aurors as soon as possible.

Tying his hair back with a strip of leather, George went back over the as-yet-untitled spell, rubbing his inner elbow. He had finally kicked his habit of tugging on his hair when he was stressed, only to replace it with rubbing his tattoo.

"Weasley?" A loud female voice sounded from the fireplace, and George frowned at the interruption. Stalking into the living room, he muttered "_lumos_" so he didn't accidentally take out his shin on the coffee table again.

"Patil?" He blinked at the sight of her head hanging in the fireplace, "What do you want?"

"You are going to help finish this ridiculousness." She crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at him.

George lowered his long frame onto the couch, and grinned back at her. For some reason, she never seemed entirely happy to see him. "What would that be? Don't get me wrong, our chats are always… interesting… and I always enjoy them, but I know of no ridiculousness that I am accountable for. Well…" He paused to clarify, "Nothing that you would know of anyway."

"Ginny, Blaise, and Draco. They're all behaving as if they were five, and you are going to help them get over it." Padma ignored his little speech, and got straight to the point with a roll of her dark eyes.

"You think I have some say in my sister's life?" George chuckled at the notion, "Look, Padma, it's disconcerting to be talking to you like this. Just come over, and I'll get you a drink."

Padma watched as he raised a pale eyebrow at her, a smirk across his lips. "I would, but we're to leave Hogwarts tomorrow, and I have homework. Too bad, huh. Draco and Blaise will be staying at the Presidential Suite in the Savoy over the break. Make sure she's there Christmas Eve… or I will have to hurt you."

"You're always titillating me with these threats, Padma. Do you ever make good on them? Or is it just a tease?" He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, and stared at her, "What are you up to this break?"

"Oh, you like pain then?" Padma smirked back at him, deciding to ignore his question, "Not really my thing, George. Just get her there."

Leaning back from the fireplace, Padma shook her head. Talking with George Weasley could almost be considered a sport. It would be so easy for her to like him, but she was if anything, a self-preservationist.

Rolling her eyes once again at George Weasley's flirting, she decided it was time to head down to the library and finish that Transfiguration essay that McGonagall had decided was due the day after they got back from Christmas break.

Muttering to herself about the evil Hogwarts' staff, Padma checked her bag for her Transfiguration text as she left the Ravenclaw tower. Not having the text would make writing her essay rather difficult.

A hand suddenly reached out to grab her upper arm, pulling her into an alcove behind a suit of armor, making Padma yell out before a hand was clapped over her mouth. Reacting instinctively, Padma kicked the shin behind her. Hard.

George shrieked, "Are you insane?" He let go of her to rub his aching appendage, looking up to glare at her.

Padma gasped when she recognized him, and gave him another swift kick just for startling her. George yelled again, and quickly jumped back, out of striking range.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Padma quickly regained her composure, smoothing the few loose strands of her hair back into her braid, straightening her robes.

Watching Padma with wide eyes, George stared as he saw her visibly turn from a spitfire to a composed, elegant witch. If he had blinked, he would have missed it. Gaping, he tried to find the words, but was unable to think of what he wanted to say.

Arching a dark eyebrow at the silent redhead, Padma spoke, "Are you going to explain why you accosted me?" She looked at his blank face, and sighed in irritation, "Can you understand me?" Speaking slowly, enunciating every word as she would with a child, Padma smirked at him.

George scowled at her, the expression feeling odd on a face that was more accustomed to grinning devilishly. Rubbing his inner elbow absentmindedly, he stared down at her, "Well, at least you didn't call me a buffoon this time."

"Aw, are you missing the nickname?" Padma glanced at her nails as she waited for him to gain some composure. He certainly seemed skittish.

"I was trying to ask you out," He glared at her with cinnamon eyes, a tendril of hair falling across the side of his cheek in an endearing manner.

"Oh really?" Padma crossed her arms over her chest, and watched with cynical detachment as his eyes flew to where her robes pulled tight across her curves. "I hadn't realized. You weren't completely obvious, and so damned cocky that I wanted to smack you."

George grinned at her, showing off bright white even teeth against his tanned skin, "There you go with those promises of pain again." He crossed the room to stand in front of her, "Come out with me."

"No." She smirked at him, and moved to walk past him, stopping only when he grabbed her hand. "George…"

"What are you so afraid of, Padma?" He tugged her closer to him gently, "Give me a chance."

Padma stared at him, before pulling her hand away, "Look, George, I'm flattered, but I actually like someone else."

Dropping her hand, he watched her intently, "Why aren't you with him then?"

"Right now?"

"No, you smartass." He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, "I meant in general. I never thought I would say this to anyone else, but please cut the sarcasm, and answer the bloody question."

Padma watched his serious face in something akin to shock. This was definitely not the George Weasley she had become accustomed to. The shock spurred her into answering him honestly, "Well, he happens to be in love with your sister."

"Good lord, are you another of Draco Malfoy's groupies? Because this is getting ridiculous."

Glaring at him again, she clarified, "No, it's not Draco, or Blaise for that matter. I don't see how it is any of your concern, however."

"Ah, so it's an unrequited love then. How romantic." He smirked at her, and moved closer, "You still haven't answered why he isn't with you then."

"Are you daft?" Padma glared before taking a step back, frantically trying to figure out how much room she had in the small alcove before she would hit a wall, without giving George the satisfaction of knowing she was nervous. By his continued grin, she would guess she hadn't fooled him in the slightest. "I did answer. He's still in love with her, end of story."

"So… why do you still like him?"

"You can't help who you like!"

"But, you can choose to move beyond it." He took another step forward, and rubbed his arm again as he contemplated her. Padma's eyes quickly caught the movement, and they narrowed. "Why do you keep rubbing your arm?"

"Never mind that," George forced his hand down to his side, making a mental note to be careful with his nervous habits around her, she had the eyes of a hawk. "You know what I think?"

"Good lord. Are you going to tell me?" She took another step back, not caring if she hit the wall at this point, she just wanted away from his too-knowing bright brown eyes.

"Yes, yes I am." Taking another step forward, he elaborated, "I think… that liking someone you know will never like you back, gives you some sort of power over your love life. You take no chances… you don't get hurt."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Of course it does… I know about you, Miss. Patil. You're always in control, and that's not how it works with relationships." Placing his hands on the wall on either side of her shoulders, he leaned in close, "If you never take a chance, you definitely won't get hurt, I agree with that. But you miss out on all of the good stuff too."

"Well, aren't you a secret pseudo-psychologist. Who knew? Now, I have to go, because unlike some people, I plan on finishing my education."

"You can be a bitch to me all you like, Padma, but you can't fool me." He grinned at her scowl, and brushed a long strand of dark brown hair behind her shoulder, making a mental note of how soft it was. Sighing inwardly, he took a step back, putting some space between them, "Give me a shout when you feel like playing with the big kids, okay?"

Padma watched him duck out of the alcove with her mouth open, unable to think of a comeback. There was only one word that came to her mind. Fuck.

--

Blaise took a sip of his pumpkin juice, and glanced idly around the Great Hall. Draco had left awhile earlier to go practice on the pitch, and Blaise had no desire to freeze his arse off in the snow just to watch Draco show off on a broom.

Grinning at the double entendre of the image for a moment, Blaise then noticed Luna sitting at the Ravenclaw table, a pale eyebrow raised at him. Looking at her quizzically, she subtly nodded her head toward the door. He nodded slightly, and bid his housemates goodbye as he went to meet her.

Looking around for Luna, Blaise noticed a flash of long golden hair turn the corner, and he followed with a roll of his eyes. Why hadn't she just waited for him? Seriously, the girl had a flair for the dramatic sometimes.

This theory was compounded by the fact that when he rounded the corner, she popped out from behind a suit of armor and screamed "Boo!" at him.

After making sure he wouldn't need a clean pair of pants, Blaise glared at her, "What did you want? You know, other than trying to freak me out."

Luna smoothed her hair behind her shoulders, and adjusted her butterbeer cork necklace before she looked at him with her dreamy blue eyes, "Have I told you about the alliance between the puffskeins and the thestrals in the Forbidden Forest? They're plotting against the giant squid in the lake, you know…"

"Don't start that shit with me," Blaise grinned at her, "Now, what did you want?"

"Hey, that's probably a perfectly valid idea." Luna's eyes sharpened, and she laughed quietly, before a more serious look passed over her face. "I heard something from a little birdy at lunch…"

"A little birdy?" Blaise arched a dark eyebrow at her. Luna sighed in mock exasperation, "Fine, I was eavesdropping on Padma and Parvati." Blaise grinned, and nodded at her to continue.

"Well, apparently, Mr. Malfoy had an interesting encounter with George Weasley a few weeks ago, along with Padma."

"George?" Blinking in confusion, Blaise nodded at her to continue.

"Well, he apparently was waiting for Padma outside of Ravenclaw yesterday, and Malfoy happened upon him," Luna paused to scratch the side of her nose, "Padma doesn't know what he said, because he took off as soon as he saw her. Which really, if you think about it, wasn't all that polite."

"Well, Draco has never exactly been Miss. Manners." Blaise pushed his dark hair out of his eyes, "Did Padma mention why George wanted to see her?"

"Well, here is where it gets a bit interesting… Apparently, Padma went to visit Ginny with him."

"Really?" Blaise arched an eyebrow at her, watching the light in the hallway flicker off of her golden skin. "What happened?"

Listening intently as Luna's dreamy voice outlined Padma going to visit Ginny, Blaise narrowed his navy eyes as she mentioned a letter.

--

Theo walked into the Slytherin seventh year boy's dorm to throw his school bag on his bed, and turned to see Vince casually leaning against the wall, watching him.

"What do you want?" He asked tightly, trying to find his good robe for the leaving feast, which he was currently late for.

"I know you're up to something." Vince spoke quietly, his soft voice at odds with his large physique.

"Oh really?" Theo gave up looking to give Vince his full attention. "I'm not up to anything."

"You are." Vince asserted confidently, his face serene, "I'm not going to give you a whole speech about how stupid it is to take on a Zabini and a Malfoy… or a girl with six older, and very protective brothers, but I want to leave you with another idea."

Theo blinked at him, Vince had never really said this much to him, or in his presence, before, "And what might that be?"

"That you are your own person." Vince slowly pushed away from the wall to stroll slowly to the door as he spoke, "You are not your father, and you are not only defined through your family. At some point, you are going to have to live your own life, and taking on family prejudices and grievances will not make you happy."

"What the fuck?" Theo asked, angrily, "You know dick. You're currently dating a girl from a family that has completely turned away from the Dark Lord, and you're trying to give me advice?"

"I never said I was perfect, and I would appreciate if you could keep Pansy out of this." Vince made no effort to deny the relationship, he was simply surprised it had taken anyone this long to say anything, "This is about you. The Dark Lord was defeated by a baby last time… a baby. Why would you follow someone like that? Why would you follow your father?"

Pausing in the act of opening the door, Vince turned to look at Theo's dumbstruck expression once again, "It really comes down to you. The minute you go against them, Blaise and Draco will turn on you. Keep that in mind. If you stay neutral, or stay with them, you have the support of all of us."

Vince quietly left the room to go to the Great Hall where Pansy waited for him with a smile across her face, her striking silky smooth hair resting on her forehead. Deciding to heed his own advice, he made a decision.

Walking right to where she was seated next to Draco and Greg, he leaned down, and placed his hands on either side of her face, tilting it up so that her mouth met his.

Pulling away, Pansy blinked at him, "What are you doing?" She hissed, "Your father-" She was cut off as Vince leaned forward to quickly place his lips on her's once again, tracing her full lower lip with the tip of his tongue, angling to deepen the kiss, amid the general shock of the Slytherin table.

Draco watched the display beside him with raised eyebrows, and turned back to his pudding, "About fucking time."

Padma noticed a commotion over at Slytherin and caught the end of what looked like a very thorough kiss, leaving Pansy looking quite shaken, and not her usual impassive, smirking self. Grinning, she turned to see Luna watching her with dreamy blue eyes.

Frowning slightly, she looked away. She really didn't know Luna all that well, but the younger girl made her slightly nervous. There was a lot more to that dreamer than she let the world see, Padma had a feeling, and it wouldn't do to let her know what she was thinking. Plus, she had noticed Luna hanging around earlier when Padma was talking to her twin, and she was certain that she had listened in on the conversation. To what purpose, Padma had no idea.

--

Ginny stared out the window of the Ministry car as they drove out of London towards the Burrow. Her mother sat beside her, and had not stopped talking since she had picked Ginny up from the train station.

Leaning her forehead against the cool glass, Ginny winced as she realized she was already wanting to be back at school. She loved her mum, but she couldn't change her nature, and her nature was to gossip, scold, and criticize all within one breath. It was somewhat disconcerting if you weren't used to it, and exhausting even if you were.

"Yes, mum." She said automatically at an expectant lull, and perked up slightly at the familiar sight of the house coming into view. No matter what, she always missed 'home'.

Another two 'yes, mum's to the door, and she closed her eyes as she breathed in the familiar smells of cooking, cleaning solution, and gunpowder. An odd combination, to be sure, but it worked for the Burrow.

Catching something about a surprise waiting for Ginny upstairs, she blinked, and realized she should have paid a bit more attention to the preceding conversation, "Excuse me?"

"Your surprise, dear." Molly Weasley smiled at her indulgently, "It's upstairs. Go take a look! I can't wait to see your reaction."

With some sense of foreboding, Ginny made her way up the rickety staircase, and opened her bedroom door. Oh, it was definitely a surprise all right.

"Hi Gin." He smiled at her softly, with his emerald eyes shining brightly from his seat at her small desk, looking strange surrounded by the remnants of her childhood.

"Harry…." She clutched the doorframe in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Laughing quietly, he stood to face her, "Surprising you, hopefully."

"Oh, I'm surprised." Ginny sank down on the edge of her bed, feeling the old mattress give beneath her in a slightly uncomfortable way. The older boy quickly came to sit beside her, and she narrowed her vibrant blue eyes slightly at the familiarity of the action.

"We managed to get some time to come home for Christmas. Ron and Hermione are still at Grimmauld house, tying up some loose ends, but I couldn't wait to see you."

"Really."

Harry carried on, not seeming to notice the general lack of enthusiasm in her tone or body language. "I missed you, Ginny. I thought about you a lot… How is Hogwarts? How is Gryffindor doing with Quidditch this year?"

Laughing wryly at the fact that Hogwarts and Quidditch got asked about, Ginny just shook her head, and stood. "I'm actually really tired from the train ride, and so on. Can you give me awhile to get cleaned up and changed, and I will meet you downstairs?"

"Sure." He stood up, and smiled at her before leaning in to gently kiss her cheek. "See you soon."

"See you soon." She echoed as he left the room.

Ginny sat back down on her bed, and started to laugh. There was really no other way to react. It was either that, or tears. The one time her mum allowed a boy into her room with her, and it had to be like this. Tears were starting to look better and better.

Worried that if she stayed in her room, Harry would come looking for her, she made her way down to the living room to find the Golden Trio out in full force speaking with her excited mother. Sighing, she joined them.

"Oh Ginny, isn't it wonderful? I'm so happy you're all home for Christmas!" Molly said ecstatically with a teary smile. Ginny smiled tightly at her as she went to give Ron, followed by Hermione, genuine hugs. Molly wiped the tears from her eyes, before excusing herself to go make supper.

"So, Ginny, how's Hogwarts been treating you since we've left?" Ron grinned down at her, looking a little thinner, and more tired than usual, but well other than that.

"Oh, you know, same old."

Hermione glanced at her sharply, taking in her incredibly non-committal and overly casual answer, "Are you doing okay with the curriculum? Would you like some help over the break? I'm staying with my parents, but I can floo in if you'd like. I've finally managed to convince them to allow our fireplace to be connected to the network. It's a bit easier for me."

Ginny smiled at her genuinely, Hermione had always felt like something of an older sister to her, "I'm fine, it's just busy with Quidditch and all. Thanks 'Mione."

"How is Gryffindor doing this year?" Harry asked excitedly, "Who's the new captain?"

"Ah, well, Dean Thomas is now the captain, and we're tied with Slytherin for the cup at the moment." She grinned at him, out of habit on the topic of such familiarity between the two of them.

"Slytherin?" Ron made a disgusted face, "We heard that Draco Malfoy somehow made his way back to school this year. You'd think McGonagall wouldn't allow scum like that on the property, huh."

Ginny glared at him, her temper rising at the insult, "Actually, he's still their seeker, and he's really good-" She was cut off by Ron's snort of incredulity, as well as Harry's condescendingly, indulgent smile. Hermione just watched her, appraisingly, again seeing everything, yet not enough.

"He cheats. That's the only reason Slytherin ever came close to winning." Harry shook his head in disappointment, "The new seeker must truly be crap if he's allowing Malfoy to win."

She really couldn't help the fact that her fingers itched for her wand, and her mind worked out just how much damage she could do with her mother just in the other room. Instead of acting on the impulse, she settled for narrowing her eyes dangerously, and biting out, "I'm actually the new seeker, thanks."

Dinner that evening was awkward. Very awkward. Ginny had managed to wedge herself between her mum, and Percy, who had finally decided to grace them with his presence.

He and Ron were the only two of her brothers who had managed to make their way home, the rest would be there the following evening for Christmas Eve, including Fleur and Lila, for the first time.

Actively encouraging Percy to talk about cauldron depths, Ginny could feel Hermione's questioning eyes on her as she ignored Harry's emotive looks. Thankfully, her mum was just so damned happy to have Percy back at the family table, that she didn't notice anything amiss, and her dad and Ron were so upset about it, that they did the same.

Making a quick exit from the table immediately following pudding, Ginny escaped upstairs, determined to be in bed and pretending to be asleep before Harry, or Hermione, could catch her.

Laying awake, watching the moonlight out her window, Ginny started to feel angry. She was sick of feeling sad and pathetic, it went against her character. 

She felt angry at Draco, for being a prat and not listening. She was angry at Blaise, for rejecting her. She was angry at Harry for abandoning her without a word and then making fun of her Quidditch abilities, and expecting things to remain the same. She was angry at Seamus for putting her in an awkward position.

She was angry at Padma… well, she wasn't really angry at Padma, but she was tied into the Seamus situation. She was angry at her mum, who had decided to play a demented matchmaker. She was angry at Hermione for… well, again, she wasn't really made a Hermione for anything, but she was on a roll. She was angry at Ron for being oblivious. God, she needed a drink.

Knowing her mum didn't allow firewhiskey in the house after the last family holiday, and the altercation that had occurred after one of the twin's more ambitious pranks, Ginny decided to floo the twins. Thank gods she was one of the only people that were permanently allowed past their wards. Not even their mum had that privilege, as she had griped on a few occasions.

George awoke to a loud thud, and a muffled curse from the living room. "What the…" He muttered, as he sprang out of bed. "Good Gods, if that's Mara and Fred again, I swear, I will kill him. I won't even be creative about it."

"It's 3 in the bloody morning!" He griped pitifully, as he wandered into the room, and stopped short at the sight of his baby sister rifling through their liquor cabinet. "Well, that's something you don't see everyday."

"Come on George, we're gonna get smashed." She triumphantly held up the firewhiskey, as well as a few muggle bottles of alcohol that she didn't recognize.

"Huh." He watched her pull out a few shot glasses, "Any reason?"

"Harry is at the Burrow with Ron and Hermione." Ginny concentrated on measuring out the liquid before looking at him expectantly.

George nodded, and seated himself on the floor across from her, the coffee table between them holding the tools necessary. "Well then, bottoms up."

Fred let himself into the apartment an hour later, a goofy grin in place. Mara had finally confronted him about the ring, and said that if he didn't ask her within the next ten minutes, she would have to simply take the ring and ask herself.

No wonder she had looked so unhappy after their big date the night before when he had lost the courage after all the setup of a fancy dinner and dancing.

Thinking about the soon-to-be Mara Weasley, Fred was unprepared for the scene that welcomed him into the flat. George and Ginny were rolling around the floor giggling hysterically, the smell of firewhiskey heavy in the air.

Sighing, Fred thanked his lucky stars that Mara had decided to go back to her own home despite his pleadings. She might have changed her mind if she had seen this.

--

Ginny woke up the next morning with her head pounding. "Oh gods…" Thanking her lucky stars that Hermione was not staying in her room, she opened her eyes to find herself curled up in George's bed, his bright red walls making her eyes hurt.

"Gin?" Fred called from the kitchen, figuring that she had slept long enough, "There's a pepper-up sobering potion beside your bed. Drink it, and come out for breakfast."

George stumbled out of the bathroom, his hang-over marginally better due to the potion, and sat at the table, looking around blearily. There was no sign of their night of drinking in the living room where he had eventually passed out and been left, and he glanced at Fred questioning.

"You are so lucky I was in such a good mood, or there would be no way I'd clean up after you two, and put Ginny to bed." Fred remarked, flicking his wand at the eggs that he had cooking. A large wooden spoon shot over to scramble them, and toast shot onto plates that hovered nearby.

"And you're making breakfast?" George shook his head in bemusement, "Mara must have said yes. Did she like the ring?"

"Damn straight she did." Fred grinned happily, and sank down across the table from him, "I told you I have bloody good taste in jewelry."

"You are the only straight man that would be happy to admit that." George remarked, watching the plate float towards him with anticipation.

Fred just grinned again, and stood up to go back over to George's bedroom door, "Ginny! Get out here now! Breakfast is on the table!"

"Fuck off!" George grinned at the groggy yell, Ginny obviously had not taken the potion yet.

"Take the potion, and get your arse out here, or I will come in and get you." Fred banged on the door once more, before seating himself again at the table. "Good lord, she's got a temper huh."

"I'm sorry, have you met our mother?"

"Good point."

Ginny pulled herself out of bed, and reached for the small potions bottle, gulping the liquid quickly, before the taste could stop her. Gasping, she shuddered and looked around as it worked it's way through her system. Within moments, she was feeling better, and breakfast was sounding more appealing.

Sitting down to eat with the twins was an experience. She was still unused to trusting anything that they gave her to eat, but she was so hungry that it seemed not to matter at the moment.

"Happy Christmas Eve by the way." Fred mentioned sardonically as he ate piece of toast, strawberry jam spread liberally over it.

"Ah, mum is probably looking for me." Ginny remarked, "And bloody Harry."

"Oh, so that's the reason for the booze." Nodding in acceptance, Fred pointed his wand in the direction of the icebox, juice floating over to fill his glass, "I was wondering. I just assumed it was due to having to listen to Percy again. That's why George wasn't at dinner last night."

"Why weren't you?" Ginny looked at Fred intently for the first time, "And why are you suddenly so domesticated? It's frightening."

"Mara said yes." George decided to clue Ginny in, as Fred was again grinning like a complete moron.

"Oh." Ginny thought about it for a moment, before her eyes widened, "Oh!" She jumped up to rush around the table, enveloping Fred in a large hug, "That's great!"

Clapping her hands, she danced around slightly, "You're getting married! To Mara! I like Mara!"

George ignored her in favour for his eggs. Fred just kept grinning, "I like Mara too, so all is well."

"Oh my gods, you better treat her right Fred." She calmed down enough to level him with a glare, and poked him in the shoulder with her index finger, "She's great. Don't use her as a test subject, don't try to be sneaky, nothing. None of your usual tricks."

Fred opened his mouth to retort indignantly, but was cut off by a slightly disjointed voice speaking from a small painting beside the fireplace, "Molly Weasley requests an audience with Fred and/or George Weasley."

Ginny sighed as George calmly stood up to go answer, leaving Fred and her at the table.

"So, have you told mum about Mara?" Ginny asked casually as she poured herself a glass of juice.

"Have I mentioned Mara as a girlfriend? Yes. Have I told her I intend to marry her? No. Has she met mum? No."

"Ah. That should make Christmas extra fun, huh."

"Undoubtedly."

--

Bill, Fleur, and their baby girl Lila showed up at just the right time. Ginny sighed in relief as she heard their entrance, and was saved from yet another almost-conversation with Harry, who was looking more and more perplexed.

Rushing over with arms outstretched to hold Lila, Ginny grinned at her brother and Fleur, and then began cooing over the baby in earnest.

Bill laughed as Fleur smiled tenderly at their daughter, and the couple went in search of Molly and Arthur, leaving the baby in Ginny's capable hands with the admonishment not to drop her.

"Hello Miss. Lila. Welcome to the family." Ginny spoke softly, looking down at the sleeping baby, the tufts of red hair already evident, as were the soft freckles across her delicate cheeks. A true Weasley.

"You look good with a baby, Gin." Harry walked into the living room, and grinned at her, trying to illicit some response.

"Thanks." She replied coldly, and turned away.

"Ginny…" Harry paused to lick his lips, nervous, "What did I do? Why won't you speak to me?"

"I am speaking to you."

"Come on Ginny. Don't behave like I'm an idiot."

"Harry, you left. What did you think was going to happen? That I'd wait for you?"

Harry looked shocked for a moment, at her words, and at the cool tone that he had never heard from her, "I thought what we had was stronger than anything."

"Harry, we had sex." Ginny spoke harshly, not allowing herself to feel the lingering pain that his departure had caused. "And then you left. Yes, you had to leave, but the way you did it was all wrong. And I've moved on."

"What?" He couldn't believe his ears, "You've loved me for so long… I love you! What is the problem?"

"No, Harry, I haven't loved you. I was infatuated with the idea of you. And you don't love me, you barely know me." Ginny felt Lila stir in her arms, and turned to head towards the kitchen where Bill and Fleur were still chatting with Molly, "Look, I have to go."

Watching her walk away, Harry frowned. He had no idea what her game was. She had declared her love and admiration for him since day one, and it felt that the moment he returned the sentiment, she renounced her words. His mouth tightened. There was no way he could let the woman he loved walk out of his life.

A/N: Ok, longest chapter I've written for 'Complicate You'. I anticipate about two more chapters, and we shall wrap this up… before the sequel, which I've already started to write. Yay! I even have the title, which is exciting. Yeah, I've expanded to a ton of characters, and I hope that you can keep them all straight. I want to expand Luna more, but that will happen in the sequel, I think. Let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas/hopes, as I love to hear about it.

It was interesting with this chapter, as I used a lot of material I had written for previous chapters and saved, and it all seemed to fit here with little to no editing. Yeah, Draco and Blaise's relationship is complex without the addition of Ginny, but I'm trying to be realistic here. Things are not all hearts and flowers, because that is boring. Padma and George will also be expanded, but I make no promises. Padma has her own issues.

Thank you for all of the awesome reviews. I LOVE reading them. Honestly, they make my day. I always forget to say thank you, but please believe me, I mean it. It keeps me going. THANK YOU. 


	13. Existence is Null

WARNING: No Draco or Blaise in this chapter… I know, I'll make it up to you, I swear!

Chapter 13:

Spearing her asparagus with her fork, wishing it was Harry Potter's tanned hand. She had managed to sit between George and Fred, and Harry was down at the other end of the table, but it still felt too close.

The usual Weasley chaos reigned in the magically enhanced dining room, with the added bonus of a screaming Lila in the other room, who Fleur and Bill were desperately trying to ignore in the hopes that she would go back to sleep.

"So, Percy, do tell us about that absurd cauldron density scandal that I heard so much about…" Charlie asked with a twinkle in his cinnamon eyes, raising his glass to his lips, thankful that it contained alcohol.

"Good Gods, Char, you really want him to start talking about that?" Fred broke in before Percy could say a thing, "Wouldn't you rather hear about-"

"Flobberworms?" George's contribution had Ginny grinning, while Charlie chuckled, and their mother clucked at them in an irritated fashion. Percy settled on a haughty look, and stuck his nose in the air.

Instantly, both twins were seen imitating him from the other end of the table. Harry hurriedly started a conversation about the Quidditch season as he saw how red Molly Weasley's face was getting. It was never a good sign.

Ginny looked around at the familiar faces, smiling softly. Ron was stuffing as much of his mother's cooking into his open mouth, and Ginny tried to imagine the look of disgust that Hermione shot him in these kinds of situations. Next to him, Arthur sat calmly, stoically, and Ginny wondered just how her father managed to keep his cool with his crazy family.

Harry was on Arthur's other side, and Ginny quickly passed over him to look at Percy who looked no different from the last time she had seen him at for just a few minutes the Christmas before. He still looked highly uncomfortable, and very angry, and she wondered briefly if he would ever let go of the past. Somehow, despite what their mother wanted, Ginny doubted that he would ever feel truly a part of things as he had before the rift.

On Percy's other side, Fleur looked calm, and happy, as she held Bill's hand, her beautiful face breathtaking in the soft light.

Ginny traced the scars that marred her brother's face with her eyes, reminders of the past, and how Fleur had nursed him back to health, and had stayed by his side every moment of his recovery, despite learning of her pregnancy. For that, Ginny would not hear an unpleasant word about her sister-in-law, and felt a strong sense of loyalty and respect for the older woman. She was a lot stronger than she had seemed at first sight.

Fred was sitting next to Bill, and was currently flicking his peas nonchalantly at the back of Percy's red head. George, to Ginny's left, was currently catching flack from their mother who was sitting beside him, about his lack of a steady girlfriend.

"Honestly, Mum, I'll give you grandkids one day. I've been practicing every chance I get." George spoke so earnestly, that it took Ginny a moment to tune into what he had actually said, and then she nearly spat her pumpkin juice into Harry's green eyes.

Not seeming to quite get what her son had said, Molly simply replied absently, "That's nice dear. I just want to see you happy."

George winked at Ginny's sputtering face, before turning back to his well-meaning mum, "Oh, I am definitely happy."

Fleur calmly took another bite of her turkey, thinking about how the general chaotic atmosphere of the Weasley table had overwhelmed her prior to having a baby. For some reason, she was happier and happier that she had not had twins. She could also understand Bill's hesitation in having more children until Lila was quite a bit older.

Ginny winced at a particularly loud yell, and glanced over at the beleaguered new parents.

"Would you like me to try to rock her back to sleep?" She leaned behind Fred to ask Fleur softly. Fleur shot her a look of gratitude and nodded frantically, expressing her thanks with her quiet, charming French accent.

Excusing herself with a smile, Ginny stood and smoothed her black dress over her hips before making her way to Lila's crib.

The small face scrunched in confusion looking up at her aunt, before Lila started screaming again, arms flailing. Ginny stared at her in fascination for a moment, really staring at her niece, taking in how tiny and perfect she was. Despite the fact that she was making so much noise, and was bright red.

Reaching down, Ginny gently lifted the baby out of the soft blankets, holding her against her chest. Rocking Lila, and crooning lightly, Ginny sat in one of the big, worn, overstuffed chairs that flanked the large fireplace

Lila calmed down slowly, her face settling into sleep with a few sniffles. Smiling down at her, Ginny stroked a finger down her soft cheek, smiling as Lila sighed at the touch. There was just something so innocent about babies. Ginny laughed softly as she thought about the kids she had met the summer before working at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Babies sometimes, more often then not, grew up to be little brats.

Despite her mother asking her about it almost every month since puberty, Ginny really didn't know if she'd ever be ready for kids. She barely knew what she wanted to do with her life after Hogwarts.

Hermione had talked up being a medi-witch, Ron and Harry had talked up being an Auror, her father wanted her to come into the Ministry, Bill had mentioned Gringotts more than a few times, and Fred and George seemed to think that she would be coming to work for them full time. Ginny… had no idea. But she had the rest of her sixth year, and then seventh to think it over. Which was plenty of time, no matter what her mother thought.

Hell, she had no idea where she even wanted to live. Ginny definitely knew she didn't want to live in, or near the Burrow, which would break her mother's heart, but she hadn't thought further than that. There was an idea that perhaps she might like to see America… She desperately wanted to travel… the trip to Egypt a few years prior with her family had been incredible.

Harry watched Ginny rocking the sleeping baby in front of the roaring fire, her hair shining in the light. Wondering briefly what she was thinking about, he reached out to gently touch her shoulder, "Hey."

Ginny closed her eyes, and sighed inwardly. It took a lot of effort to deal with Harry now. "Hi Harry. You're probably missing your pudding."

"No problem." Harry pulled the other chair over and sat down, smiling at her, "I'm not really hungry. I wanted to talk to you more."

"Harry, we've talked." She smiled at him gently, sadly, "there's nothing more to say."

They sat in silence, each watching the fire. Harry fought back the tears he could feel threatening, blinking rapidly. It hurt.

"Was there anything I could have done?" Ginny could barely hear him, he spoke so softly.

"No." She answered honestly, "Harry… We both needed to grow up. I mean… I am not the same person I was at eleven. And you are not the same person either. We tried, and it was nice, but we are not soulmates."

Harry wiped a hand over his face, and stared at the pictures that lined the mantle. Big smiles graced the faces of all of the Weasleys there, and he caught one of Ginny waving energetically in front of the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts.

"Ginny…" He paused, trying to get it together, "I love you. I want you to be happy… and I realize I hurt you… but I want to try again."

She sighed, and tilted her head back against the chair. It still hurt to talk to Harry. It ached. Ginny knew she didn't love him, but it still hurt. And she really didn't want to give him any hope.

"Harry, we were together for like two months, and it was great. We slept together. And then you left with Hermione and Ron." Ginny held up a hand as Harry started to speak to forestall him, "I know, you had to. But you left me in the middle of the night, without saying a word. That hurt."

"I'm sorry, Gin." Harry reached over to place his hand over her fingers where they rest on Lila's chubby arm. Ginny stared down for a moment, before gently removing her hand to place it on Lila's belly. "I never meant to hurt you. It just felt… it was too hard to say goodbye to you."

"But… that's what hurt the most. Is that you thought only of yourself-" Ginny stopped abruptly, her mind working. This felt oddly familiar. It felt like… what she had done to Draco.

"Ginny?" Harry watched her with concern, "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah…" Ginny blinked, and stood up slowly, cradling Lila to her. "I have… I have somewhere to go."

Harry stared in astonishment as Ginny carefully laid the sleeping baby back in the crib, and turned to the front closet to grab her cloak. "Where?"

"I'm… not entirely sure." Ginny grinned at him in excitement, all of her thoughts on seeing Draco and Blaise.

"What?" Harry called after her as she ran upstairs in search of her purse.

The Weasley family paused mid-pudding hearing Harry call out, and Ginny running up the stairs.

"Should I go check on them?" Molly looked to Arthur questioningly, who looked indecisive about it.

George and Fred exchanged a glance, and made a decision.

"Uh, Mum?" Fred smiled winningly at Molly, "I have something to tell you. Do you remember Mara?"

George slipped from the table as the family focused on Fred, and made his way past a confused-looking Harry to the stairs.

"Gin?" He knocked on the door lightly, watching as it opened from not being closed properly.

Ginny looked at herself in the mirror, pulling at the hem of her dress which hit her thighs a couple of inches above her knees. She was so nervous, and yet she couldn't figure out why. There was a good chance that she was just going to get rejected again… But still… She had to figure out where they were, and see what happened.

"Gin?" George spoke again, his little sister was off in her own world, but she looked radiant. Happy for the first time since… since before she had gotten sick. And nervous.

"Hey George." She turned to smile at him briefly, before pulling on a black cardigan over the dress. "Do I look ok?"

"Depends," he leaned across the doorframe, and crossed his arms over his chest, "Who are you trying to look ok for?" He grinned at her, "Harry?"

Ginny stuck her tongue out at him via the mirror, "No, not Harry. He just made me think about things with Draco and Blaise. And now… well… I want to see them. I want to make this right. And I don't care if they shoot me down." She paused to think about it, "Well, I don't care much."

George watched her carefully for a few more moments, the silence between them stretching as she ran a brush through her hair, "Is this what you want?"

"What do you mean?" She turned to look at him fully, taking in his serious tone.

He stepped away from the door, and came to sit on her bed, grinning at the pink, frilly coverlet on it, "I mean… Do they honestly make you happy? Is it worth it?"

"Yes." Ginny answered automatically, a soft grin curving her generous lips, "Yes. I… well… I want to be with them. I have no idea where they are tonight, but I thought I would floo Malfoy Manor… they're bound to be together. I know Blaise won't go home."

George listened to her think out loud for a moment, before making his decision. "Gin, I know where they are."

"You do?" She turned to him with wide eyes, before narrowing them in suspicion, "Why do you know?"

"Uh, Padma told me."

"Why would Padma know?" Ginny shook her head, realizing something, "You know what, I don't care. I just want to know where they are."

"The Savoy." George took in her uncomprehending stare for a moment before taking mercy on her, "It's a Muggle hotel in downtown London."

"London?" Ginny sagged slightly, and sank down on the bed beside him. "This is impossible…"

"Well, not completely." He grinned at her, and reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders tightly. "Leave it to Fred and me." Ginny looked at him somewhat apprehensively, prompting him to add, "No, it won't be illegal."

--

Padma reached up to stroke the nose of her horse Ava, speaking quietly to the skittish creature, "Hi girl, did you miss me?" She hugged the horse gently before feeding her the bit and pulling it over her head.

She loved coming home to her parent's manor for the simple reason that she could ride as much as she wanted over the extensive fields, letting her mind wander aimlessly.

Gripping the saddle, she hoisted herself up in a graceful, practiced move, and straddled the large brown horse with ease.

Feeling the horse's muscles flexing along her thighs, Padma held the reins in one hand and deftly moved her toward the exit of the stables, grinning at her twin who was grooming her own horse. Parvati saluted her with the brush before turning back to the now-gleaming horseflesh.

"Come on, Ava, let's see what you've got." Padma kicked her heels, and Ava took off, the snow crunching under her flying hooves.

The air was crisp and cool, and chilled her bare cheeks. It felt exhilarating, and Padma was again reminded why she liked coming home, despite how much she loved Hogwarts.

As far as she could see, it was almost frighteningly still, and silent, the snow glowing from the setting sun. Allowing Ava to slow to a cantor, Padma stood up in her stirrups to see the lake in the distance where she and Parvati still ice-skated every year.

Hearing the hoof beats on the snow behind her, she turned to see Parvati approaching on Ellie, a gentle black mare. "Hey Parv. I thought you were headed in?" She turned to grin at her, sitting back down in the worn saddle, the dark leather creaking with the cold.

"I was. But I wanted to talk to you." Parvati had Ellie fall into Ava's rhythm, and spoke seriously. Padma glanced at her, a dark eyebrow raised under the hair that Parvati had talked her into cutting the day before.

"What about?"

Parvati adjusted her own riding helmet a bit more snugly, before looking ahead to the line of trees that denoted the edge of their property. "Seamus."

"What about him?" Padma masked her shock carefully, automatically. She and Parvati, despite appearances, were very different. Parvati tended to be the lighter of the two, she wore her heart on her sleeve. She made Padma a little nervous in some ways.

Well aware of the differences in their personalities, Parvati took a moment to think about what she would say, which was uncharacteristic for her. After a long silence, she spoke, "Why do you like him?"

"His arse cuts a fine line in his pants."

"Very funny." Parvati grinned at her sister's humour, which tended to rear its head in the strangest moments. "I have this theory."

Padma leaned down to stroke Ava's neck gently, smiling when the horse whinnied softly at the touch, "Oh, do tell."

"Well, we both know how in love with Ginny Seamus is. That's not going to change."

"I know. There's always a chance though."

"See, I don't think that's what it is. I honestly don't think you care all that much about Seamus Finnegan."

"Huh. Well, that would be news to me." Padma stared ahead as they slowed the horses to a walk, and followed the property line. The Patils were a very old pureblood family, and their manor had been in the family since the time of Merlin. She idly reflected on the fact that the twins both felt the draw to this land, and knew that they would be forever connected to the property.

"I think you're scared." Parvati nodded vehemently as she spoke, she had put a lot of thought into this, "You are so completely in control of everything, that a romantic relationship would scare the shit out of you. You can't control love."

"That doesn't explain why I like Seamus. Whoops, do I spot a flaw in your theory?" Padma smirked facetiously, angry that now two people had said the same thing, and hating that she felt like she was the one in the dark for once.

"Don't be like that, Padma." Parvati reigned in her own temper, knowing what her sister was doing, "You like Seamus, because you know there's no hope of him returning the feelings."

"Whatever. I don't want to deal with this shit." Padma kicked Ava with more force than necessary, and held on as she took off in a mad gallop, leaving Parvati staring after her.

"Well, that went well."

Later that evening, Padma lay in her large bed, staring out the window at the moon, wondering why she wasn't more excited to be home, in her own bed, on Christmas Eve.

She knew she had her issues. Padma loved to think of herself as being the one behind the scenes in charge. Already missing chatting with Ginny, the only person that she ever felt she could be completely open with, Padma sighed and flipped over onto her stomache, breathing in the scent of clean linen and jasmine.

Thinking about what George, and then Parvati had said, she wondered if perhaps she was too in control. The thought of trusting someone like that… of opening herself up, well, it frightened her. It scared the hell out of her, actually. She couldn't even pinpoint why.

The Weasley twin's relationship was something she'd always envied since coming to Hogwarts. They were so close, no secrets. Padma had not had that with Parvati, recognizing early on that Parvati was akin to a sieve with secrets. She couldn't help her nature, but that didn't mean that Padma felt completely comfortable with her twin. They had both long since realized that they would always be close, but were too different.

The Weasleys. Ginny had been a shocker to Padma. She was so incredibly complex, and she had decided that she and Padma were going to be friends in her fourth year. Ginny was her closest friend by far, and it was odd that she was also now thinking about her brother the way that she had been.

George was a mystery. He was so open, and yet so closed off at the same time. It confused Padma completely. She also knew enough of his reputation, not just at Hogwarts, but out in the wizarding world, to know just how experienced he was, and how much his attention wandered. Padma couldn't even start to think of how she would deal with someone like that.

Groaning at her own melodramatic musings, Padma forced herself to wonder what her parents had gotten her for Christmas. They really weren't that creative, so she could bet items one through ten on the list that they always made the twins send home at the beginning of December were under the tree.

Falling asleep seemed a long way off somehow.

--

George slipped out of the hotel after giving Ginny a quick hug, and a reminder to use the spell if she needed him for anything. Feeling his star heat up, he grinned, and rubbed it, letting her know he had felt it.

Time to head back to the Burrow, and to their mum, who they hadn't told about the little trip to London. George sighed, and headed into an alley to apparate into the front yard.

Fred met him on the front porch, looking harassed. "I hope Ginny will be appreciative of what I just went through. I didn't even have Mara here to soften the blow!"

Aiming a smack to the back of George's head as he laughed, Fred thought back on the horror of the remainder of dinner. His pudding had been completely spoiled by his mum bursting into tears, then berating him for not telling her sooner, then about where Mara was, and then wedding talk, followed closely by baby talk. This, and no Ginny or George who were his traditional allies against the family.

Irritatingly enough, Fleur had known Mara despite being a few years ahead of his fiancé at school, and she had been able to share a few stories that she remembered, mostly about Mara and ex-boyfriends, which Fred had definitely not wanted to hear about.

He had then spent the remainder of the evening in simmering jealousy, and wanting to talk to Mara so badly that he could taste it, cursing her yet again for going home to France to be with her family for the holidays. Fred conveniently ignored the fact that he would be going to see her the next day, and then she would be coming home with him on Boxing Day.

George couldn't seem to control his laughter as Fred related all of this to him. He really felt that Mara was the best thing that could have happened to him.

"So, when are you going to give me a little Fred or Mara?" He asked casually, watching Fred make a sour face at the mention of children, a subject that Molly Weasley had already thoroughly exhausted.

"Enough out of you! You are no longer allowed to make fun of me for a week concerning all of this, considering that I went through that for you to get Ginny out of her, to likely have sex with two men." George made a face at that, and Fred pushed his own disgust aside to revel in getting back at his twin, "Yeah, that's right, I went there."

They walked into the house together, bracing themselves against what awaited them there in the form of their formidable mother. George shot a glance at Fred, "That was a good one. But we are in agreement that they will do nothing but play tiddlywinks, right? I won't be able to sleep if I can't get that image out of my head."

Fred held out his hand, and they shook solemnly, "Agreed."

Ginny squared her slight shoulders, and held onto the railing as the elevator rose steadily toward the top of the hotel. It was a special elevator that only gained access to that suite, and had a huge amount of Muggle security on it, which George had dispersed with one flick of his wand for her.

Catching her breath, she felt the movement under her feet, and wearily stared at her hands, knuckles turning white under the strain to keep from freaking out about the strange mode of travel. It unnerved her, but she kept thinking about the reward waiting for her at the top of the hotel.

The device chimed quietly, indicating that she had arrived at her destination. Doors sliding open, she stepped out onto plush carpeting, and stopped feeling the strong wards that someone… Blaise by the feel of it, had set up.

Ginny sighed, and looked into the large living room, trying to spot someone. This was not quite how she had envisioned this. Feeling silly, she called out, "Hello?"

A/N: I'm sorry!!! That was the best place to end it.

Thank you for the awesome reviews, especially Airmid and Toxicvamp, Julie, and so on. You guys have been totally supportive, and great from the start, and I look forward to your reviews like an addict to crack. Only a couple more chapters left! (I'm a little sad about that….)

Also… I'm starting to get sick of beta-ing my own work. I'm making a plea for anyone who would be willing to beta the sequel to please message me. PLEASE!!!!!! I'm a busy university student, plus I'm now on contract to write a book. I just don't have the time to properly beta anymore, and I don't want to put out fanfics that are of lesser quality because of that. Thank you so much in advance!


	14. Closer to God

WARNING: Slash ahead.

Chapter 14:

Being on the Hogwarts train had been horrible without Ginny. Blaise was constantly reminded of her presence, and it took all of his willpower not to seek out the small redhead. Draco, had gone to sleep the moment he had taken a seat next to Daphne in the Slytherins compartment, and had been no help whatsoever.

Feeling Pansy's eyes on him, he looked over to see her sitting beside Vince, and staring.

"May I help you?" Blaise asked quietly, aware that Draco was not the only one asleep, and that Theo was watching him with interest in his dark eyes.

"Yes." Pansy spoke firmly, and reached down to thread her fingers through Vince's, holding his hand tightly. "You and Draco can stop being complete arseholes."

Blaise raised a dark eyebrow sardonically, "Language." She grinned at him dangerously, showing sparkling white teeth, and he shifted a little away from her. Pansy scared him.

"You miss her." She spoke simply, and Blaise sighed in relief that it wasn't anything worse, "He misses her too, even though he won't admit it." Pansy jerked her thumb in Draco's direction.

Blaise narrowed his navy eyes, and looked away, not really in the mood to discuss Ginny. He could feel her down the train, and it was hard to realize that even now, they still had that strong a bond.

"Ignore me all you like, you know I'm right." Pansy leaned against Vince, who placed a soft kiss on her forehead. No longer welcome with his family since they had caught word of their relationship, Vince had been invited by Pansy's mother to their home for the holidays, and honestly, he had never looked forward to Christmas more.

"You are completely irritating now that you're in love and happy, you know that, right?" Blaise threw at her with a smirk.  
Stroking her thumb across Vince's knuckles, Pansy grinned in return, "I'm surprisingly ok with it."

He laughed softly, genuinely happy for his meddling friend, and braced his feet against the seat opposite in an effort to stretch out his leg muscles, and gain some vestige of sleep.

All too soon, Draco was shaking Blaise gently in an effort to wake him up. "We're here Blaise." He spoke quietly, sending shivers through the still not-quite-awake boy before he remembered that he was angry at Draco.

Blaise sat up stiffly, and turned away from the blonde Slytherin, with the excuse that he needed to put on his robe. Draco watched his lover with hurt evident in his mercury eyes, before also turning away. He caught the eye of Theo who was smirking, and glared slightly, satisfied when the other Slytherin turned away.

Pansy watched the entire exchange with derision. Boys were so stupid sometimes was the only thing she could think of, before walking out of the compartment with Vince following close behind.

Arriving at the Savoy had been equally tense. Draco had no idea what was going on, but he thought that Blaise was acting like a child, and he refused to indulge him.

Draco wandered into one of the large bedroom, the hotel's manager trailing behind him. "As you can see, you have two bedrooms with luxurious king-sized beds, and two en-suite washing rooms."

The blonde took in everything with a critical eye, before nodding slightly, and waving the hovering man off, all with the inherent air of one who knows wealth and power. As the man turned to leave the suite, Blaise tucked a wad of pounds into his hand. "Thank you for all of your help."

Needless to say, Blaise and Draco were treated with kid gloves by the hotel staff after that.

A few evenings later, they had gone out, speaking only when necessary, and had ended up at a large, exclusive, Muggle dance club. Staying at opposite ends of the club, Blaise and Draco had both danced and drank to an extreme before Draco had decided to make a move.

Blaise closed his eyes and threw his arms out, dancing wildly, almost daring those around him to join in. Seeing a tall female staring at him with heavy-lidded eyes, he turned to her, and held out his hand with a smirk. She was instantly pulled into his chest, and whirled around.  
Feeling his skin sizzle, Blaise smiled drunkenly as he felt Draco getting closer. While drunk, Blaise had a hard time keeping his shields up, and Draco knew it well. A shaft of desire ripped through him, and he was at the point where he didn't care if it was from him, or his lover who had just placed his hands on Blaise's tight waist.

Draco pushed his hips into Blaise aggressively, his hands finding the bottom of the white t-shirt that just met the low-slung leather pants that the shorter boy was wearing. Feeling himself harden, Draco brought one hand up to shift Blaise's almost shoulder length hair to one side to run his tongue up the cord of his strong neck.

Blaise moaned, and the girl who was still dancing squeaked lightly when his fingers tightened on her. He let her go to lean back into Draco's embrace, arching his back to press himself closer.

Tracing patterns on Blaise's abs, Draco continued dancing, his jeans tightening painfully against Blaise's hard behind. The girl watched them with desire, they looked like angels who had fallen for all the right reasons.

Draco lowered his bright head back again to where Blaise's t-shirt exposed the spot where neck met shoulder, and delicately bit there, grinning as he heard Blaise gasp in surprise and pleasure. Laving attention on the spot with his tongue, Draco traced the waist of the soft leather, letting his fingers drift just under to feel the silky skin there.

Almost panting from Draco's ministrations, Blaise shuddered as he felt his lover's long fingers graze the front of his pants, a touch so fleeting that if he hadn't known better, he would have sworn was accidental.

"Tease." Blaise all but whimpered, as they continued to move to the music. He was rewarded by Draco's low laughter.

Growling low in his throat, Draco reacted to Blaise maneuvering his arm behind his back, and between where their two bodies were pressed closely together. He firmly stroked the hardness he found there, causing Draco to lurch forward again, pushing his hand right down the front of Blaise's tight pants to stroke the hardness he found there.

"I want you…" Draco murmured, trailing his lips up Blaise's neck to nibble on his sensitive earlobe. Blaise shivered at the contact, and nodded jerkily.

Grabbing Blaise's hand firmly, Draco turned and pulled him off the dance floor behind him. Pulling his wand out of his back pocket, Blaise cast a quick surreptitious disillusionment charm over both of them, and followed Draco eagerly, well aware of what was going to happen.

As they made their way further into the labyrinth of hallways within the large club, Blaise took advantage of the relative quietness, and pushed Draco against the stone wall, pressing himself tightly against the taller male's strong back.

Draco hurriedly undid his belt and almost ripped his zipper off the denim to get his pants open as Blaise assaulted his neck and cheek with hungry lips. Feeling Draco trembling, Blaise roughly pushed his jeans off his hips, and reached around to cup his hard cock with one hand, the other reaching up to tightly pinch aroused, flat, male nipples through the thin cotton of his shirt.

Dizzy with desire, Draco moaned tightly as he felt, rather than heard, Blaise mutter a few words, and then the tip of his hardness pressing forward past the tight ring of muscle, well oiled by Blaise's spells. Blaise groaned out loud as he felt the tightness, and it was almost painful for him to go slowly to allow Draco to get used to his presence. Breathing heavily, feeling beads of sweat making their way down his back under his shirt, Blaise paused when he was completely seated.

Resting his forehead on the cool stone, Draco whimpered as Blaise stroked his hand up and down his hard cock, and then started to move gently out, before starting a firm rhythm that caused Draco to arch his back into Blaise's heat. He pushed back, demanding without words that Blaise go faster.

Drunken Muggles stumbled past, not noticing the two wizards moaning, and moving against each other in the public hallway.  
Blaise bit his lip as he felt closer and closer, and he sped up the movements of his hand and hips, and grasped Draco tightly around the waist with his free arm. Draco cried out, not even recognizing his own needy tones, and he shuddered violently as he climaxed.

Feeling Draco's muscles contracting around his length, Blaise sank his teeth into the side of Draco's neck as he followed closely. Blaise sighed as he leaned against Draco's back, hugging him tightly, trying to catch his breath. It took a long time for both of them to be able to walk on legs with still-shaking muscles, and then leave the club for the hotel.

Blaise rubbed a plush towel through his dark hair later that evening, feeling how it was starting to curl now that he had allowed it to grow longer than usual. Wandering into the luxurious bedroom, he saw that Draco was fast asleep in the middle of the large bed. Typical. That boy could sleep through anything.

He pulled on his black silk pajama bottoms, and ran a hand roughly through his hair to comb it into some sort of semblance.  
Blaise's sleep patterns had improved exponentially since he had gotten sick, despite the fact that he was not yet tired that particular evening. He was down to using the dreamless sleep potion to every other night, but it had helped.

Being away from Savvy Zabini, and Zabini Manor for that length of time had done wonders for his sense of security. Knowing that Zabini Manor now technically belonged to him when he had turned seventeen was something that he had decided to push to the back of his mind until he left school.

Draco and Blaise had been having an interesting time in Muggle London so far. It was awkward, and tense, due to what Luna had told Blaise, but which he had not had the courage to confront Draco with. It was so unlike him not to bring something like that up, but he was too afraid of losing Draco too. Unless he counted what had happened earlier in the night, but he couldn't bring himself to regret that, even when the weak Muggle alcoholic haze had worn off.

Draco had seemed to realize that something was wrong, but he had not brought it up, instead choosing to act as normal as possible. They had been to all of the finest restaurants, and clubs, all without really talking to one another.

Heartily disgusted with his lack of courage in actually talking to his lover, Blaise traced his scars absent-mindedly, unable to see them due to the glamour, but still able to feel the raised edges. Blaise stared at Draco's prone form intently.

Asleep on his front, Draco's pale back rose and fell as he breathed, his legs sprawled with the linens. Blaise sighed, and turned to find a t-shirt, and watch the teevee that was located in the living room. It was absolutely incredible what Muggles found to be entertainment.  
Glancing automatically at the elevator door, Blaise wandered through the room to find a comfortable spot on the couch, the plasteeq wand clutched in one hand. Remembering the look on the hotel manager's face when he had been asked to explain how the teevee worked to the two teenagers, Blaise grinned slightly.

Settling in, Blaise wondered what was different. Something was… off. He turned to look at the elevator doors again, and spotted it. Scrambling off the couch, he strode closer for a better look. Yes, that was a shock of bright red curls.  
Ginny Weasley was fast asleep on the carpet just outside the wards he had set up a few days prior, her hair fanned out over her shoulders and knees. He knelt beside her small form, and brushed a tendril of her hair off of her delicate face, and lifted her against his chest.

"Blaise…" She sighed in her sleep, nuzzling her face into his neck as he stood. Blaise felt something inside of him clench at the familiar feel and smell of the girl in his arms.

Realizing just how long she must have been stuck between the elevator and the wars, Blaise stared at her too-pale face which was slightly pinched with stress. Knowing what a deep sleeper she was, and realizing just how much he had missed her, he brought her into the bedroom, and laid her down beside the still-sleeping Draco, climbing in on her other side to pull her into his arms.

Though asleep, Draco turned to her small body, and draped his arm across her hips in a possessive squeeze. Blaise fell asleep feeling at peace for the first time in far too long.

Ginny was having the most wonderful dream. She felt like she had come home.

--

Fred woke up on Christmas morning, and reached for his fiancé with one arm, only opening his bleary eyes to see that she was not in bed with him when his hand encountered nothing but a pillow. His fiancé… he loved that. Realizing that she was currently in France with her family, he groaned, and flopped back into bed.

He woke up an hour later, this time taking note that he was back in his and George's old room at the Burrow. Funny that Mara's absence had registered before the fact that he was not in his own flat. Grinning at how incredibly sappy he was becoming, he sat up to find George staring at him with an evil grin.

"What?" He looked at his twin suspiciously, brushing his short red hair off his forehead impatiently. George's hair now floated just short of his shoulders, generally tied back with a leather thong, and he lamented briefly the fact that they were no longer completely identical in appearance. It was the end of an era.

"You missed me heading downstairs, to be interrogated about my lack of a girlfriend, and where exactly Ginny was." George studied his nails innocently, "I may have mentioned that you and Mara had an engagement party already with all of our friends."

"What?" Fred stared at him in horror, "That's not even true!"

"Has that ever stopped either of us before?"

Thinking for a moment, Fred's shoulders sagged, "No."

George grinned, "I love that you got engaged."

"So glad you're gaining amusement from my major life decision." Fred glared at him before stretching his arms over his head, wincing as his shoulders popped, and his back ached from the small, old bed. "I need to leave at about noon to go see Mara in France. We should head down for breakfast."

"Oh, I'm not going back down there. Mum's on the warpath now." George crossed his legs at the ankles, and leaned back against the wall on his bed opposite Fred's. "Can I come to Mara's with you?"

"I believe _fuck no_ sums up my feelings about that idea." Fred's answer was said with ill-humour as he stumbled out of bed, and started searching for the change of clothes he had brought over the night before, "I want to make a _good_ impression."

"Fair enough." Tapping his fingers on his thigh, George watched his twin thoughtfully.

They were becoming more and more different as they got older, and it felt like sometimes Fred was leaving him behind. He couldn't begrudge him, however, he was so happy. It was somewhat bitter sweet however, because it highlighted just how dissatisfied George was becoming with his own life.

George's mind drifted to Padma as he thought about his life. Pushing the tall, dark haired girl out of his thoughts aggressively, he wondered when playing the field had gotten old.

Cursing under his breath, George flopped back on his bed, and stared at the watermarks, and cracks that marred the white surface of the ceiling. At least they no longer kept WWW merchandise stacked in their childhood room, it had started to feel claustrophobic.  
Hearing an incessant knocking at their one small window, George turned his head slightly to see an unfamiliar owl flittering around out in the cold air, tapping at the glass.

"I'm not getting up." Fred warned, rolling over and sticking his head under his pillow. His twin sighed, and stumbled out of his bed, kicking Fred's mattress on his way over, and let the owl fly in.

"Oi!" George heard the yelp from beneath the pillow as he watched the bird fly around the room in mad circles close to the ceiling. Finally, a letter was dropped onto George's bed, and the owl made a rather grand exit after flapping it's wings in George's face. Muttering to himself about tempermental birds who would taste like chicken, George closed the door behind it.

"Well, don't I feel popular all of a sudden." George murmured to himself as he picked up the envelope, breaking the seal carefully, before inhaling sharply at the contents, and the sender.

_George,_

_I'm not sure exactly what to say. This is more than a little awkward, and I'm glad I'm not in Gryffindor, because I feel like a coward because I could not bring myself to come see you, or floo you._

_I like you. I've liked you for awhile now. And not just because you're Ginny's brother, just so we're clear. Actually, if anything, that would hold me back, but well… ok, I'm going off-tangent. I like you. I want to know if you want to go out with me at some point. It's ok if I'm too late, I just don't want to have any regrets._

_I also promise I won't call you a red buffoon again, even if I think you sometimes deserve it._

_Merry Christmas._

_Padma._

Carefully folding the heavy paper back up, George laid back on his bed to again contemplate the ceiling. He had not expected that development.

George hopped out of bed, and leaned over to shake Fred, "Come on! You're coming downstairs with me this time."

"Bugger that."

"Presents." Fred shot out of bed at that word, a big smile curving his lips, "Let's go!"

--

Ginny woke up disoriented, with the uncomfortable feeling of having slept in her clothes. She stretched languorously, stopping abruptly when her hand met with warm skin. Slowly, she looked up, to find that she was lying within Draco's loose embrace. Instinctively, she turned her head, to find Blaise laying behind her on his stomache, hugging his pillow tightly. It was oddly endearing.

Sitting up, Ginny pushed her wild hair behind her shoulders, and slid down to the bottom of the bed to avoid waking the Slytherins, determined to find the water closet before thinking about her current situation.

After making use of the facilities, Ginny stood in the opulent bathroom, and stared at her reflection in resignation. She was much too pale still, and her hair looked like it had been struck with lightning. Knowing that she was avoiding thinking about the two men still asleep in the large bed through the door to her right, she slowly ran a comb that was lying beside the sink through her hair.

Adjusting her dress against her hips, she squared her shoulders and tried to gather up some courage that she just knew she had. Sitting on the closed seat of the loo, she faced facts. Her courage was completely used up at this point. Glumly, she wondered if Harry ever hid from Voldemort in the loo.

Having woken up when Ginny had left the bed, Blaise sat resting against the padded headboard, and stared at the door, waiting for Ginny to emerge. Checking the small, elegant clock that was placed on the dresser, Blaise sighed as ten minutes passed. Then twenty.  
Pulling on his bathrobe against the slight chill in the room, Blaise got out of bed and made his way to the door, the open robe floating in a black cloud behind him, his bare chest gleaming in the sunlight. A quiet _alohamora_ had the lock springing into action, and he quietly made his way into the smaller room.

Ginny looked up as the door opened, and she watched Blaise approach with wide eyes. He frowned as he saw the weariness there, the timid expression making him long for the Ginny he knew, instead of this stranger.

She stared down at the tiled floor as he crouched in front of her, making her legs spread slightly to accommodate him. Blaise rested his hands gently on the sides of her face, and forced her to look at him, their eyes level.

"Hi." He spoke so quietly, that she was only sure of his words by watching his full lips. "I missed you."

"I missed you." Ginny matched his tone, her hands clenched tightly together on her thighs, almost touching the skin of his chest. Blaise stroked his thumbs lightly over her cheeks, feeling the soft skin there.

"I don't know why you came last night." He looked intently into her bright eyes, searching for something, "I don't really care, to be honest. I'm just glad you're here."

Ginny smiled, a slow, true smile, "So am I. Merry Christmas, Blaise." She leaned forward to brush a kiss against his lips. Blaise slid his hands through her hair to cup the back of her head, and held her close as he slowly took over, lips touching over and over in the lightest of touches. He reveled in the familiar, and yet different taste of her, the way that she responded to him.

Sighing against his lips which she had missed so much, Ginny pulled back slightly to stare at him again. "We all need to talk. We all have something that needs to be said."

"I know." He massaged the back of her neck gently. "Look, why don't you have a bath, while I wake up Draco and get some breakfast for all of us."

Ginny nodded her acquiescence, and leaned forward to kiss him once more. Blaise smiled at her gently, before standing up to lean over and run the taps in the large bathtub. Kissing her once more, he turned and left her alone in the room.

Blaise knelt on the edge of bed, and braced himself over Draco with one hand to kiss the lips softened by sleep. This had no affect on Draco's deep slumber, so he leaned forward again to bite the base of his pale neck, right beside where a dark bruise had formed from his ministrations the night before.

Draco came awake with a groan, and reached for a hastily retreating Blaise, "Oh come on!"

Grinning at Draco's grumblings, Blaise looked over at him as he made his way to the tellyphone, "Get up."

Flopping onto his front, Draco tried to go back to bed, but the sound of water splashing caught his attention, "Blaise, is someone in the bathroom?" He looked over at the dark haired boy by raising his head.

On the plastic handle, ordering a small feast of breakfast foods, Blaise simply held up a hand, indicating that Draco should leave him alone as he discussed the benefits of pancakes.

Draco frowned at the brush off, and pulled himself out of bed to investigate. Striding to the adjoining bathroom, completely unmindful of his own nudity, Draco opened the door, and slowly took in the sight of the small redhead amid the bubbles in the bathtub.

At the slight whisper of the door opening, Ginny looked over her shoulder to see Draco staring at her expressionlessly. Fighting back the surge of apprehension, she stared back, determined to not look away first.

Not breaking her stare, Draco walked almost hesitantly to the side of the tub, and sat down on the porcelain edge beside her head. "Red."

Ginny closed her eyes at the sound of the familiar nickname, her shoulders loosing tension that she hadn't even realized was there. She opened them again to see Draco still staring at her intently, and that he was completely naked. Swallowing against a suddenly dry throat, she looked forward, trying not to focus on all of that pale skin.

"Move forward." He spoke with such familiar authority, that Ginny glared at him out of sheer habit of never doing exactly what he wanted until he asked the right way. Draco sighed, falling back into the familiar, and much missed routine, "Please baby?"

Ginny grinned to herself, and slid forward, feeling Draco climbing into the water behind her, his legs sliding against her own, his hands pulling her back against his chest until she was comfortable settled in the vee of his hips. She leaned her head back, feeling his chin resting on her hair.

"I thought I had dreamt that you were here last night." He said conversationally, sprawling his arms along the edges of the tub negligently.  
"Was it a good dream?" Ginny had no idea what to with her hands, but she couldn't let him see just how nervous she was, so clenching them on her stomache was out of the question. She settled on letting her arms relax to her sides, her fingers resting gently on his legs just above the knees. Draco tensed momentarily at her touch, before forcing himself to relax. "Yes."

Ginny nodded at his answer, and silence settled over them, the two former lovers both afraid to speak and say something that might ruin the quiet moment. Finally, the silence was broken only when Draco reached for the soft sponge, and lathered it with the expensive soap that the hotel provided. He ran it slowly up her arm, covering her skin in the white suds in a move that was both arousing and relaxing.  
Allowing him to gently bathe her, Ginny leaned into him and let her mind drift at his soothing touch. She had almost forgotten just how amazing Draco could be with his hands when he felt like it. He gave the best massages too…

"Sit up." Ginny started at the softly given instruction, and this time didn't stop to glare at him, but obeyed, and got the pleasure of him running the soft material down her back, followed by stroking fingers that soothed her muscles.

Draco pulled her back into him, and carefully wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him. She brought her smaller hands up to hold onto his, feeling his fingers thread through her own and hold on firmly. Pulling their joined hands up, she kissed his knuckles before letting it drift back down to rest on her collarbone.

Closing his eyes, Draco breathed in the smell of lavender bath bubbles, and Ginny. She always smelled lightly of vanilla, but also her own indefinable scent all of her own. His arms tightened in an effort to never let her go again. "Merry Christmas, Ginny."

Blaise stood in the doorframe watching the two people who meant the most to him, silently forgiving each other. They each had so much to talk about, but for this moment, it felt like everything was perfect. Happiness quaked through him at the image that they presented, and he was loath to break it, but his rumbling stomache needed to have it's say.

"Breakfast is going to be here any moment." Draco glanced over at him, a golden eyebrow raised at the interruption. Ginny looked over Draco's shoulder, and grinned slyly at Blaise, "I don't think I'm completely clean, but oh well…" She sighed melodramatically, and stood up as Draco groaned at the sight of her nakedness just an inch from his own body.

Grinning back at her, Blaise grabbed a plush towel from the shelf, and walked forward to enfold her within it. He helped her out of the tub, and looked back at Draco as they exited into the bedroom, "Come on, you don't want the food to get cold, right?"  
Draco groaned again, and leaned his head back.

A/N: I completely wrote the final chapter, and then decided to break it in two. I want to get the first chapter of "Reflect You" (sequel) finished, and then put that, plus the final chapter of "Complicate You" up at the same time, just so you all have some idea of how my crazy mind works.

I also keep forgetting to mention it, but yes, the chapter titles are taken from 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails, which is a HOT song. Love it.  
Thank you again to everyone who's been reviewing, I love reading what you think! I just wanted bring your attention to an HP awards site for all pairings and such in fanfics (called Quill to Parchment. I can't put the link here, this site won't allow it. It is on my profile though, so check it out when you get a chance!). I nominated a few writers (Airmid should check out the pending when she gets a chance!) and anyone whose interested should definitely go and check out the nominees. There are some AWESOME fics up there! Honestly, I wouldn't mention it if I didn't think it.

Ok, enough of that. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR READING, and hopefully reviewing, and making my day. : )

FYI - the formatting for this chapter is so completely messed up, and I apologize. When I upload, it does something really weird. I tried uploading multilple times, and then I had to resort to fixing it after uploading, and that doesn't always look pretty. Again, sorry.


	15. Away from Myself

WARNING: some slash, very explicit sexual content.

Chapter 15:

George watched his mother pace with a neutral face. He really didn't feel any guilt at all about sneaking Ginny out, but he felt mildly bad that his mother was worrying to this extent. The fact that Harry seemed to be more interested in the new Quidditch supplies that Hermione and Ron had given him for Christmas just solidified his belief that he had done the right thing.

"Why don't you send her an owl?" Charlie suggested gently to their mother, watching Lila who was rolling around on the carpet beside him. Bill was lounging on the couch looking exhausted, but still not as tired as Fleur who had gotten up a record eight times for feedings the night before, and who was currently trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

Molly turned on him with round eyes, before rushing to where Pig was hooting in the kitchen.

Percy opened a badly wrapped package carefully, and pulled out the large tub of candies that George and Fred had given him with suspicion. George grinned at him, "I picked those out specially."

Laughing to himself as Percy hastily dropped the candies, George looked around at the typical Christmas afternoon scene, despite missing some familiar, and much-loved faces. Fred had left an hour earlier, despite Molly's objections, for his future-in-laws, his face scrubbed pink, and his best shirt pressed within an inch of its life.

Ron was busy eating his own body weight in chocolate frogs, and Hermione was giving him disgusted looks between reading the updated version of 'Hogwarts: A History' that Harry had given her.

George grinned, he had always had a soft spot for the bushy haired girl who had proved a worthy opponent at Hogwarts through her efforts to thwart the Weasley twins constant mischief. Quite honestly, the only person who surpassed Hermione in the intelligence, and wits department was Padma.

Ron and Hermione had seemed to come to some sort of understanding through their travels with Harry, and the almost painful tension between the two had greatly diminished, leaving them in the familiar roles of friends, with Hermione being cast in the role of teacher and disciplinarian.

Harry had changed too, George had noted. He was quieter, more intense, his green eyes focused where there had been laughter previously. Despite his misgivings over his sister's intense relationship with not just one, but two Slytherins, George could not bring himself to hope for a reunion with Harry.

He had never ridiculed Ginny over her infatuation with the green-eyed boy, but he had certainly never promoted it, as Ron had inadvertently done. Ron tended to idealize Harry, to paint him in the best way possible, but that was done more through the flaws in Ron's own character than in any hopes for their sister and Harry to commence a relationship.

Wiping a hand over the back of his neck, George stretched, feeling muscles pull from their confinement the night before in a now too small bed, childhood bed. Ah, to be 'home' again.

He had honestly never wished for the end of Christmas so badly as this year, with the thought that Padma had finally consented to be with him. It should have been a kind of hit to his ego that it had taken so long, and so much effort, but George had to admit that any pride he had had with regards to Miss. Patil had long since been discarded. It was a mildly sobering thought.

Rifling through his modest pile of gifts, George grinned at what Fred had gotten him, before picking up the _Trickster's Guide Volume XIII_ Ginny had so thoughtfully provided. It was quite astonishing just how many of the chapters could be applied to his everyday life…

Picking up a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, he looked up to find Charlie watching him, and nodded his head in the direction of the cloakroom as soon as he had his younger brother's attention. George got up and made his way out, wondering what the hell his older brother wanted.

"Where is she?" Charlie walked through the door, barely clearing the frame before asking the blunt question.

Years of lying, and skewing the truth for his own ends had George not even blinking an eye before answering, "Where is who?"

"Don't start with me." Charlie watched him expressionlessly, "You and Fred can bullshit almost anyone, but I work with large, intelligent beings who breathe fire. Don't get on my bad side."

George's shoulders slumped, and he replied, "Fair enough. She's with her… friends. Believe me, you really don't want to know more. It's scarring enough as it is."

"Friends?" Charlie arched a red brow at this, "What friends? What are they doing?"

"Playing tiddlywinks." George answered instantly, shuddering slightly.

"Tiddlywinks?" Charlie blinked, confusion flitting across his strong features.

"I bloody well hope so."

"Ok, George," The older Weasley leveled him with a glare, "You are going to tell me what the hell is going on, and right now."

"I'm Fred." He answered automatically, trying to stall.

"Nice try." Charlie was under whelmed by the ploy he had seen way too often, "Start talking, or I tell Mum about how you helped Ginny leave, and how you are the only one who knows where she is."

George gaped, "That's blackmail!"

"Yes, I decided to lower myself to your level."

Thinking for a moment, George wiped away an imaginary tear with a smirk, "I've never been prouder."

--

Ginny lay with her head on Draco's chest, Blaise curled up tightly behind her on the large bed. Blaise's discarded t-shirt swamped her small form, and she sighed in contentment at the familiar warmth of the two bodies surrounding her.

They had all been talking for the last hour, and she was still floored by the revelations about Blaise's past, the pain he had been through still making her feel the wetness sliding down her cheeks.

It had taken a long time before he had even been able to talk about it, and only then he had given what Draco knew to be the barest of details, outlining his childhood in the best way possible. It had still been heartbreaking to hear for Ginny though, who had no basis for comparison with her own happy childhood spent with a family who loved her deeply.

It had been almost impossible for Blaise to talk about his mother, and Ginny had been thankful that he trusted her enough to tell her as much as he had.

She owed it to both of them to do the same, and started hesitantly, "As you both know, I had this… crush… on Harry since I was very young. Honestly, I was ten when I first decided I liked him. I can't even call it love.

Basically, I had given up on him by the beginning of fourth year, and I started doing my own thing, realizing that Mr. Potter wanted nothing to do with a little girl who he simply saw as his brother's baby sister."

"More fool he…" Blaise remarked softly, bringing a smile to Ginny's full lips, and an ironic chuckle from Draco.

"Well, you know I agree." She remarked before continuing on, "In my fifth year, though, he seemed to finally notice me, and we started dating towards the end of the year. Things happened, though, and he tried to do the noble thing by breaking up with me, to 'protect me'."

"Makes an odd sort of sense, in a typical Gryffindor noble way." Draco said noble like it was a foul word, spitting it out, making Ginny laugh delighted.

"Well, I changed his mind about that…" She grinned slyly, and Blaise hugged her close, "We dated through the end of the year, and into the summer hols.

In August… well, you both know what exactly we got up to, even though it was awkward and strange, and mildly disgusting."

"Good lord, if that's how you describe Potter, how the hell do you describe us?" Blaise wondered aloud, glancing down at the grinning redhead in his arms. Draco snorted inelegantly, and stroked his fingers through her fiery curls.

"Good." She sighed, and closed her eyes in remembered ecstasy, "Bloody brilliant." Draco grinned, showing off even white teeth, satisfied.

"One night though, after we had…" She paused, waving her hand negligently in a manner that was to indicate what she just couldn't voice in present company. Blaise watched her in consternation, "Practiced _wingardium leviosa_?"

Ginny reached behind her back to lightly hit his side, as Draco laughed, "No, you git. You know what I mean!

Anyway, in the middle of the night, Harry took off with Hermione and Ron. I knew it was going to happen at some point, they had been discussing it since the end of school, but he left me in the middle of the night, without saying a word." Ginny winced, knowing how that would sound to Draco, who remained mercifully silent on that point.

"Last August, after Harry left, I went a little off the rails," Ginny admitted softly, feeling Blaise squeeze her comfortingly, Draco frowned, but he remained silent. "Seamus and I went out a few times, but mainly I spent time with Lavender and Parvati, drinking, dancing, going wild. My folks were visiting my brother's family in France, and I was living at home alone for the first time."

She circled her fingers through the sparse blonde hair that trailed from Draco's bellybutton down under his pajama bottoms until he laid a gently hand over hers, "Stop that. I can't think with you touching me like that."

Ginny nodded, and continued, "I got my bellybutton pierced, got my tattoo… Well, you've both seen that." She looked over her shoulder to grin slightly at Blaise, who smiled back before laying his cheek on the top of her head.

"I honestly didn't get that tattoo for an specific reason. We just happened to be in Muggle London and wandered past a shop. A few months later, though, Fred and George met up with me in Hogsmeade."

"At Halloween." Blaise interrupted, "I remember, you wouldn't tell us about that. I bet you a galleon you'd tell Draco."

"You still owe me that galleon." Ginny smiled as Blaise's arm crept around her waist, his fingers threading through her own slender digits on Draco's stomache. "Anyway, I worked for the twins over the summer, which you two know, and one of the… well, I wouldn't quite call it a perk, was that if you work for the twins, you test for the twins."

"You tested their experiments?" Draco's mercury eyes narrowed, his muscles tensing at the idea that Ginny might have been hurt by her brothers, however inadvertently.

"Uh huh." Ginny nodded absent-mindedly, remembering being turned into almost every animal, and a few plants at some point or other, "Anyway, this time, they had found out about the three of us spending all that time together, and threatened me with telling our mother."

Draco shuddered at the thought of the formidable Weasley matriarch, but Blaise was mildly confused, "Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes, yes it is." Ginny nodded emphatically before continuing, "So, with that threat, they got me to agree to another of their experiments.

My brothers are incredibly smart, for all that they left Hogwarts early, and they had put together an idea of how to bond wizards together that would not recognize wards, or distance."

"What?" Draco looked down at her, "That's impossible."

"Well, you always have to remember with Fred and George… Anything is possible if you have enough nerve." Ginny smiled, remembering the last time she had said something akin to that to Harry. "They just needed to figure out a way to place the charm on the subjects that wasn't through blood bonds, which are completely permanent, but not something that could be taken off as easily as a piece of jewelry."

Stretching her legs, feeling the muscles pull slightly, Ginny continued, "They had actually been with me when I got my tattoo done by the muggle artist, and it seemed to be what they were looking for.

George went back to the shop, and he got the same tattoo on his inner elbow. That day in Hogsmeade, I went back with them to Diagon Alley, and they took a couple of hours to enchant my tattoo. It didn't hurt or anything… it kind of itched for the next couple of days if anything."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Draco spoke quietly, drawing Ginny's attention away from her story. She kissed his side softly, "I wanted to. That was part of the deal, that I didn't tell you two."

"Did you tell anyone?" Blaise spoke from behind her, and frowned as he felt her tense. "You did."

"Yes." She admitted, hating that she had kept something like that from the two of them for so long, "I told Padma a bit about it. She senses glamours and other charms to an amazing degree. She knew you used charms on your wrists, Blaise, and she could see under them. I told her enough to keep her happy, but not that much.

Another part of the deal was that I go to their place each week so that they could run some tests on me to determine how exactly I was faring with the charm, and so on, plus the reactions with George."

"So you and George are now connected like this?" Blaise asked, frowning slightly, wondering about the implications of this type of spell. "Like… can he feel what you feel? Read your mind and so on?"

"No… That's a blood bond, like what you and Draco have. This is a little bit more casual. I can contact him by placing the tip of my wand on the tattoo, and I can locate and go to him by doing the same, with the right spell. And as I said before, it doesn't matter if there are wards and so on, so I can apparate out of Hogwarts if I'd like."

Blaise reflected on what she had just said, thinking back to when Draco and he had bonded at the age of thirteen, and the seeming freedoms it gave them n regards to each other's thoughts and feelings. This seemed like more… and less than that bond in a strange way.

"That's rather… incredible." Speaking with a tone of wonderment, Draco folded his arms under his head, staring down at her red head intently, "Do you know what this kind of spell means? How much this knowledge is worth?"

"Yes, well, I found that out." Ginny took a deep breath, knowing she was about to wade into dangerous waters, "After Blaise got sick, well, that evening was one of my scheduled evenings to go to see the twins."

She clutched Draco's trim waist hard before continuing, "I did wait until you fell asleep, Draco, and then I apparated away from Blaise's room."

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked quietly, feeling somewhat odd that he felt little anger over something that had been such a big deal. Blaise reached up to run his fingers lightly through Draco's hair, the silky threads falling back into place perfectly.

"I wanted to. But you would have asked where I was going… and I wasn't feeling all that great to start with. I honestly thought I would go, and be back within a half hour."

"You weren't feeling great?" Blaise interrupted, pressing himself up close to her back.

Ginny explained about being admitted to St. Mungo's, and the ongoing investigation with the Ministry of Magic, which she was currently in violation of just talking about it with the two Slytherins. Draco emitted a slight hiss when he understood just how ill she had been, and he closed his eyes at his own stupidity.

"I did send a letter with Padma… I have no idea if it was even received though." Ginny looked up at Draco's shuttered face, and frowned, not liking that she was unable to read what he was thinking from his features.

Silence reigned, until Draco admitted tightly, "I burned it."

Ginny stiffened, and sat up to stare down at him, Blaise turning his head away. "Why?" She bit her full upper lip, staring into his silver eyes, "You were that angry?"

"Yes." He breathed out, sitting up to face her, his slender hands reaching out to cup her high cheekbones, "I was. I'm sorry Ginny. I should have read it."

"You really should have." Blaise remarked, "And you should probably have let me know about it as well." He rolled onto his back languidly, propping his strong arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.

Draco rolled his eyes, and looked back into Ginny's bright blue gaze, "I really am sorry love."

"Don't call me that." She said quietly, to the point where he could barely hear her, "I don't want to hear a word that has no meaning behind it."

Draco simply blinked at her, confused. It was Blaise who sat up, leaning back on his elbows, and asked of her, "Why would you say that?"

"And all of a sudden, no less. I've been calling you that since we got together." Draco was vastly confused, and the feeling irritated him.

Ginny looked away, unable to meet either of her lover's eyes, "You know what I mean. And it feels different now, Draco."

"Ah." Draco nodded in comprehension. "You think that I don't love you?"

"What about me?" In consternation, Blaise voiced his thoughts, "Do you have the same fear?"

Ginny thought for a moment. She had felt so strongly about these two men for so long, that she barely knew when lust and like, had turned into love for her. It was an almost physical pain. Blaise was easy for her to read though. She answered in the affirmative, "I know you love me, Blaise."

"Good stuff." Blaise closed his eyes with a grin.

Draco again rolled his eyes, "And you doubt me?" He was vaguely insulted.

"Yes." Ginny looked at him intently, "I really do."

"Why?"

"All you do is fight with me."

"You start it!" Now, he was just indignant.

"Wanker!"

"Bint!"

Ginny reveled in the familiar repartee with the tall blonde who was currently lounging against the pillows like an indolent god. Sweet Circe, she had missed this.

It was actually a little remarkable just how many languages he could make fun of her in, and she recognized French and Spanish, before he launched into Latin, the flowing words concealing some very harsh language that she understood slightly with her rudimentary knowledge. She doubted he even realized he moved onto each language as he ran out of names and insults.

Blaise settled back against the fluffy pillows, and listened to the familiar sounds of Ginny and Draco verbally hash out their issues. They were so incredibly similar with the same stubbornness and fiery temper, that they clashed frequently. He rather thought they enjoyed it, however. It gave them both someone to vent to who wouldn't take offence to words spoken in anger.

Ginny's eyes sparkled as she fought with him, and Draco watched in appreciation, barely paying attention to what he was saying anymore, more focused on the expressions flitting across her stunning features. Anger, laughter, delight, love, amusement, shock… it was all there for him to see and revel in.

Leaning forward, he speared his fingers into her long hair, and tilted her face up to place a lingering kiss against her soft lips. "I'm sorry." He breathed into her mouth, feeling her breath hitch at contact.

"Me too…" Ginny leaned forward, deepening the touch, sweeping her tongue against his lower lip in contrition.

Just as Blaise was about to fall back asleep, he sensed a shift in the 'conversation', and he opened his navy eyes to see Ginny sitting on Draco's lap, kissing a line across his jaw as he strove to explain that he had missed her.

"I missed you, Gin… missed you so damn much. And Blaise was sodding miserable. Did you know he kicked me out of his bed for awhile?" Draco spoke stiltedly, clutching her waist as he strove to get around his emotionally repressed upbringing to give her the words she so desperately needed to hear.

"Just say it." Blaise suggested, reaching out to stroke a line down Ginny's sensitive spine, wishing there was no cloth separating her flawless, soft skin from his touch.

Ginny shivered, and looked over to Blaise, giving Draco a chance to compose himself slightly. He closed his eyes, and sighed. Why was it so difficult?

Almost giving up, believing that she would have to settle for actions instead of words, Ginny made to get off of his long legs. Instantly, his hands clamped themselves to her hips, holding her in place.

Draco opened his eyes to see Ginny looking at him with confusion and expectation. "I love you."

"I know."

"What?" Draco stared at her, taking in her self-satisfied smile, "Why did I have to say it then?"

Blaise chuckled slightly at Ginny's feline grin, "It was good for you."

Draco was completely dumbfounded, and allowed her to push herself off of him this time, to go and cuddle into Blaise's side, her head fitting comfortably into the crook of his neck. She breathed in deeply as he hugged her close, smelling his familiar sense, and giving Draco a moment to get himself together.

"Good for me?" Draco's usually languid drawl was somewhat strained, and Ginny resisted the urge to giggle, instead looking up to see Blaise smirking. "Sweet Circe, you are lucky that I love you, you crazy bird."

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Ginny thought for a moment, "Don't either of you want to know if I love you?"

Draco chuckled lightly, as Blaise gave into full laughter, "What?" Ginny looked from one to the other in confusion, and rising anger, "What is so funny?"

"We know you love us." Draco patted her on the head, grinning as she growled at the condescending gesture. Blaise nodded at her as she glanced at him for confirmation.

"Why am I not surprised?" Ginny asked no one in particular, before reaching out a small fist to punch Draco in the side, and then Blaise, "You both deserved that."

"Well, now you're _definitely_ not getting a Christmas present, kitten."

Ginny was still giggling as she was pulled down between them. Blaise turned her head gently to face him, stroking a fingertip over her lips, tracing the contours that he had memorized so lovingly.

Draco took advantage of Ginny's distraction, and placed a long-fingered hand on her thigh, caressing her soft skin, bringing a sigh to her lips as Blaise leaned in to capture them.

Lost in Blaise's kiss, Ginny was a mass of sensations, cupping the back of his neck with one hand to bring him closer, insistent that he not stop with those wonderful strokes of his tongue.

With her other hand, Ginny guided Draco under her simple covering, shivering as she felt his fingers trace a line up her hip, tripping lightly over the elastic of her small panties to find her flat belly.

Blaise cupped Ginny's jaw, holding her in place as he slowly, languidly, explored her mouth, brushing his tongue against hers in a rhythm that had her rocking her hips slightly, wanting more.

Feeling that movement, Draco smirked and dragged the scrap of material from between her legs, watching with appreciation as she instinctively widened them to admit him. Placing each hand on her pale knees, Draco leaned forward to brush a kiss against her inner thigh, biting the spot gently when he felt her start at the touch.

Ginny moaned, tearing her mouth away from Blaise's beguiling lips to breathe heavily as she felt Draco's tongue brush against her skillfully. Blaise looked down to see the top of the silvery head, and smirked before dragging the t-shirt up and over her head, letting it fall to the floor beside the bed.

Spotting her small, hard, rosy nipples, Blaise groaned raggedly, leaning over to capture one between his lips, palming the other full breast in his hand and massaging gently.

Ginny gasped, writhing against the sheets, her skin flushing a delicate pink as she felt pleasure spread through her, almost painful in it's intensity. Draco could feel her getting close, and each time, he pulled away, never allowing her to reach the pinnacle, her body calming before he would calmly take her small clit between his lips again.

Blaise stroked sure fingers over Ginny's ribs, pulling back from her now glistening, and swollen nipples, tweaking them to the point of soreness, where the line of pleasure and pain met, and was surpassed.

Looking up to meet Blaise's navy eyes, Draco nodded shortly, his lips and chin glistening with wetness, as Ginny went wild beneath their skilled ministrations. As sleek as a feline, Draco moved up her body to capture her lips, Ginny clutching his hair even as she tasted herself on him.

Blaise watched Draco and Ginny kiss with a savage intensity, desire surging through him. Flipping Ginny over, Draco guided her knees to either side of his hips, settling her on top of his erection, guiding her down it's length, as they both moaned at the feeling. Ginny moaned at the fullness, feeling him stretching her sensitive tissues.

He held her still, his hands controlling her movements by clamping onto her hips, waiting. Ginny moaned, and her fingers clutched at his hands, trying to move, desperate to move. Draco gritted his teeth at the sensations of her tightening around him, her hips wildly trying to grind into him despite the restraint.

Blaise grabbed his wand from the bedside table, and had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself before casting a quick spell over himself and Ginny, before moving behind her, straddling Draco's long legs.

Spotting Blaise over Ginny's shoulder, Draco placed his hand behind her neck, and pulled her down to brush his lips against her again, as she tingled in anticipation.

"Gods, I love you…" Draco murmured against her lips, feeling her quivering smile, rather than seeing it, as she gasped against his mouth.

Blaise pushed into the small pink hole slowly, feeling her adjust to admit him, feeling her stretch. He threw back his head, groaning loudly, and stilled for a moment as he became seated deeply within her, feeling Draco through the barrier separating them.

"Merlin…" Blaise breathed, his muscles shaking.

Ginny panted as her two lovers set up a gentle rhythm, feeling the familiar fullness that she had missed so much. Perspiration beaded on Draco's forehead, his abdomen muscles clenching as he sought some semblance of control, trying to delay the inevitable just for a few more minutes of pleasure.

The moment Ginny felt Blaise's fingers edge around to stroke her at the point where she was joined so deeply with Draco, she exploded. Screaming at the sensations running through her, she vaguely sensed the increased urgency in Draco and Blaise's movements within her.

Groaning as he felt the increased slickness, Draco came followed shortly by Blaise with a roar, his hands reaching over his head to grasp the pillow firmly. Blaise trembled as he aimed to fall to his side to avoid crushing Ginny between himself and Draco.

Ginny gasped at the sudden loss, and collapsed on top of Draco's chest, feeling his rapidly beating heart against her cheek. She fell asleep there, Blaise's fingers languidly reaching out to stroke her back, the air cool against her sweat-slicked skin, but Draco almost too hot against her, warming her.

Boxing Day morning was spent in bed between two incredibly warm Slytherins, who were both incredibly grabby even in their sleep. Ginny couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy.

Stretching her toes against the soft linen of the sheets, she tried to get up the energy to get out of bed, but it just didn't seem to be happening.

"What are you doing?" Blaise asked blearily as he felt Ginny poking him in the side.

"Trying to get you to wake up."

Groaning, he threw his leg over her thighs to hold her in place, and wrapped his arms around her securely, "No. Go back to sleep."

"I can't." She pouted up at him, even though he stubbornly refused to open his eyes, "Too hungry."

"And you woke me because…?" He inquired with a drawl.

"Draco's an even worse morning person than you." Ginny admitted with an astonishing lack of shame over her somewhat cowardly actions.

"Huh." Blaise turned his head to the side to check the clock that was on the table beside the bed, "It's way too sodding early for this, kitten."

"I'm hungry!" She announced a little bit louder, hopefully.

Draco groaned suddenly, and rolled onto his stomache, "Will you both shut up? I need a solid ten hours of sleep, or my day will be shot."

Instantly, Ginny shoved away from Blaise to poke at Draco's side, "Come on! Hungry! Food!"

"You," Draco lifted his head up to glare at her, his voice rough with sleep, "Are a pain in my arse."

"I'm ok with that."

With a chuckle, deciding that he had tortured Ginny enough, Blaise sat up to lean over and brush a kiss across her lips, "What would you like?"

An hour later, with Ginny's stomache happy with her decision of pancakes, she sighed in contentment, and sipped her tea, watching Blaise over the rim of the mug. Draco, was still dead to the world in the large bed.

"Happy?" He asked quietly, placing on the table with slow, deliberate movements.

"Yes." She spoke without thinking, spoke through feeling.

"Amazing what a quart of maple syrup will do for one's disposition, hmm." Ginny laughed at Blaise's dryly delivered observation, and shook her head, "Oh, I was happy at the knock of room service."

Blaise raised his glass of juice in a salute before taking an experimental sip, "This stuff isn't bad, you know. Not pumpkin juice, but I got a very strange reaction from the muggles on the other end of the tellyfone when I tried ordering that earlier."

"Telephone." Ginny corrected absent-mindedly as she wrapped both hands around her warm mug, and tucked her long legs beneath her on the large chair, wrapping the thick material that she was wearing more securely around against her skin.

Grinning at her childlike position, Blaise leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles, seemingly unaware, or rather unconcerned that he was clothed only in a white, terrycloth dressing gown that matched the one worn by Ginny.

They both grinned as they heard Draco stumble out of bed, and make his way to the water closet, cursing as he tripped over an unfortunately place piece of furniture. The blonde Slytherin really was not a morning person.

Making his way to the dining area where his lovers were firmly ensconced with the remnants of a gourmet breakfast, Draco ran a hand through his silken hair, tugging out the few knots that dared to entangle the locks. He paused briefly beside Ginny to kiss her lightly, before doing the same to Blaise.

"Good morning." Ginny grinned at his still rough tone, and leaned forward to place her tea on the table in order to pour him some juice.

"And to you." Blaise watched the scene of domesticity with a smirk. It generally took awhile for Draco to fully become his usual charming self upon waking.

The remainder of the morning was spent in relative peace, with laughter sounding from each of them at different intervals, and heading back to bed soon after to lounge in the large, downy, depths.

Blaise found himself nestled between his two lovers, feeling such an incredible respite that he was sure he would be unable to move until they had to untangle him to leave for Hogwarts in a week's time.

Leaning forward to kiss his chest, Draco agreed with the sentiment, forming an idea in both of their minds that they shared wordlessly.

Ginny could feel them conversing, but she could not quite make out the conversation other than the most general idea that it was about her. She was content to let them speak through their bond, one of them would talk to her about it later, she was sure.

Agreeing with Draco's thoughts, Blaise pushed the idea that they should wait for Ginny's graduation, for her to be completely sure.

Ginny fell asleep hearing Blaise and Draco's mingled thought. _What was the span of a few months when compared to a lifetime?_

THE END

A/N: Finished.

Again, thank you VERY VERY much to all that faithfully reviewed… it was so incredibly helpful, and great, and…. I don't know what else to say to convey the depths of my appreciation.

Extra special thanks to Airmid, Julie, Toxic, and so on… honestly, your reviews made me laugh, and take the plot in a very different way from what I had originally intended.

Now, I promised a sequel, and for updates on that, check my profile. The first chapter is almost ready, but I also wanted to give the description and title here… so here goes…

Catch You

Brief Summary:

What happens next? With Blaise, Draco, the Patil twins, and most of Ginny's friends leaving Hogwarts, what will her last year of school hold?

Draco and Blaise both have their futures mapped out, though when their families and Death Eaters interfere, they will have some tough choices to make. Luna and Ginny each have some decisions in store for their futures, which may, or may not keep them close to those they love. Though reaching a tentative peace, George and Padma both have some issues to work out that include Fred's new marriage, careers, and different ambitions.

And, a very fateful mistake from 'Complicate You' will play a large part for Ginny, Blaise, and Draco in the sequel.


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